Probate Cost Calculator
| Estate | One layer | Both layers |
|---|---|---|
| $200,000 | $7,000 | $14,000 |
| $500,000 | $13,000 | $26,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $29,000 | $58,000 |
| $2,500,000 | $44,000 | $88,000 |
Probate cost advice online lives in euphemisms — 'typically 3 to 7 percent', 'it depends on your state'. California, where more estates pass through probate than anywhere else, publishes the actual numbers in statute: four percent on the first hundred thousand, three on the next, two on the next eight hundred thousand, one on the next nine million, and half a percent above ten million. The uncomfortable part is not the rates — it is that the executor and the attorney each receive the statutory amount separately, so the ladder runs twice.
This calculator runs the ladder exactly as the code reads, on both layers, and adds the court filing fee on top. It also points at the exit most families miss: estates under the small-estate ceiling can transfer with an affidavit, no probate at all — and since the ceiling is a number the legislature keeps raising, the honest move is to check the current figure with the court's own self-help guide rather than trust any fixed number printed on a calculator page.
How to use
- Enter the gross estate value as accounted by the personal representative — the house, accounts and belongings; statutory fees are computed on that accounted value, not on what remains after debts.
- Choose the layers: executor only if a family member administers and waives fees, or executor plus attorney for the standard represented case — both layers are statutory, not negotiated.
- Read the result as a floor for court-supervised probate in California, then check the small-estate exit before filing anything: below the affidavit ceiling the process collapses into a one-page form.
Frequently asked questions
How is the California statutory probate fee computed?
It is a marginal ladder, not a flat percentage: 4% on the first $100,000, 3% on the next $100,000, 2% on the next $800,000, 1% on the next $9,000,000, and 0.5% on the next $15,000,000, with anything above $25 million set by the court. A $500,000 estate is $13,000 on one layer — $4,000 + $3,000 + $6,000 — and twice that when the attorney takes the same statutory schedule.
Do executor and attorney really each get the full amount?
Yes — Probate Code sections 10800 and 10810 set the same compensation schedule for the personal representative and for the estate's attorney, and in a represented probate both statutory fees are ordinarily allowed. That doubling is the single biggest line item in a California probate, which is why a family member serving as executor and waiving the fee halves the statutory cost.
Are there costs beyond the statutory fee?
The court filing fee (several hundred dollars, county-set), publication of the notice to creditors in a local newspaper, certified copies, and sometimes a probate referee's appraisal fee — one part in ten thousand of appraised assets, with a minimum. Extraordinary services like contested litigation or selling real property require separate court approval and bill separately.
Can we avoid probate entirely?
Often, and the cheapest probate is the one that never opens: estates under California's small-estate ceiling transfer by affidavit, jointly-titled property and named-beneficiary accounts pass outside the will entirely, and a revocable living trust keeps assets out of the court's hands. The affidavit ceiling is adjusted by the legislature periodically, so verify the current number rather than memorizing one.
What about states other than California?
Most states have no statutory ladder: fees are set by local custom, court guideline, or negotiation, and total attorney-plus-executor cost commonly lands somewhere between 2 and 7 percent of the estate. A few, like Alaska and Delaware, publish statutory schedules of their own — the uniform-law states mostly do not. Treat any out-of-state number from a calculator as a conversation starter with a local attorney, not a quote.