Probate · CA
California probate: fees and how long it takes
California is one of the few states where the executor and the lawyer are paid by a percentage written into the Probate Code, and the base ignores the mortgage.
Rules read on official California pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Creditor claim period
- 4 months
- Small-estate limit
- $208,850
- Executor and attorney fees
- Set by statute
- Statutory fees, $500,000 estate
- $26,435
In California, probate fees come from a statutory table: on a $750,000 estate the personal representative is entitled to $18,000 and the attorney to another $18,000, so $36,000 for ordinary services before any extraordinary work, plus $435 to file the first petition. Both commissions are computed on the gross value the representative accounts for, which means a loan against the house does not reduce them. The calendar has a legal floor too. Creditors may file until 4 months after letters are first issued, or 60 days after a notice mailed to them if that ends later, and the estate is not distributed before that window closes. Add the weeks it takes a busy county court to set the first hearing and the hearing on the final petition, and a simple California probate runs well beyond that 4-month floor. An estate whose California property stays at or below $208,850, for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, can avoid court entirely with the affidavit of Probate Code § 13100.
Statutory fees and court fee in California
$26,435
5.3% of the estate · at least 10 months before final distribution
| Personal representative statutory compensation (Prob. Code § 10800) | $13,000 |
| Attorney statutory compensation (Prob. Code § 10810) | $13,000 |
| Court filing fee | $435 |
| Creditor claim period | 4 months |
| Small-estate limit | $208,850 |
Estimate under the California probate statutes. Publication, bond, appraisal, extraordinary services and the estate's own taxes are extra. How this is calculated.
Gross value, not equity
The percentage in Probate Code § 10800 bites on the inventory and appraisal value, gains on sales and receipts, without subtracting what the decedent owed. Picture a Pasadena house appraised at $900,000 that still carries a $700,000 loan, plus a $100,000 brokerage account. The heirs inherit roughly $300,000 of equity, yet the schedule runs on $1,000,000: $23,000 for the executor and $23,000 for the lawyer, $46,000 together, before the $435 court fee. That gap between equity and the fee base is the reason so many Californians fund a living trust: trust assets never enter the estate accounted for.
The fee is a ceiling for ordinary work, and the parties can agree on less. Selling real property, defending a will contest, preparing tax returns or running a business count as extraordinary services, which the court may award on top after a petition. A family member serving as executor can also waive the commission, which keeps the money as an inheritance instead of taxable income.
What form DE-300 changes, and when
California indexes its small-estate thresholds, which almost no other state does. The Judicial Council republishes them every three years on form DE-300 under Probate Code § 890, and the figure that applies is the one in force on the date of death, not the date you file. For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, the affidavit works up to $208,850 of California property, counted gross; joint tenancy, trust assets and property passing to a surviving spouse are left out of that total. Heirs must wait 40 days after the death before presenting it to a bank. A primary residence worth up to $750,000 can now pass by a simpler court petition under § 13151 instead of a full administration, a route available for deaths on or after the same date.
Where California estates lose months
The 4-month claim period is rarely what drags. Getting letters can take weeks in Los Angeles or Orange County, where the first probate hearing is often set well after the petition is filed, and publication of the notice must precede it. The inventory and appraisal goes through a probate referee appointed by the court, and a sale of real estate under independent administration still requires a notice of proposed action to the heirs. Each objection or continuance pushes the final hearing back. The deadline the Probate Code sets for petitioning for final distribution could not be confirmed on the official site when we checked, so this page does not state one.
Across the state line, Oregon also sets the executor's fee by statute, with a much lower slope above $50,000.
The California probate rules this calculator applies
| Estate value | Personal representative statutory compensation (Prob. Code § 10800) | Attorney statutory compensation (Prob. Code § 10810) |
|---|---|---|
| $100,000 | $4,000 | $4,000 |
| $250,000 | $8,000 | $8,000 |
| $500,000 | $13,000 | $13,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $23,000 | $23,000 |
| $2,000,000 | $33,000 | $33,000 |
Creditor claims. A creditor must file a claim before the later of 4 months after letters are first issued to a general personal representative or 60 days after notice of administration is mailed or delivered to the creditor (Prob. Code § 9100); this does not extend the 1-year limit of Code Civ. Proc. § 366.2. source
Closing the estate. No final distribution before the 4-month creditor claim period of Prob. Code § 9100 has run; the inventory and appraisal is due within 4 months after letters (Prob. Code § 8800). source
Small estates. Affidavit collection of personal property without probate if the gross value of the decedent's California real and personal property (excluding property described in § 13050, such as joint tenancy, trust and spousal property, and property in a § 13151 petition) does not exceed $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025 ($184,500 for deaths April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2025), and 40 days have elapsed since death (Prob. Code §§ 13100, 13101). The amount is adjusted every 3 years by the Judicial Council (Prob. Code § 890); next adjustment April 1, 2028 (form DE-300). source
Simplified procedure. For deaths on or after April 1, 2025: court order determining succession to a primary residence worth up to $750,000 (Prob. Code § 13151); affidavit for real property of small value up to $69,625 (Prob. Code § 13200); small estate set-aside for spouse and minor children up to $107,900 net (Prob. Code §§ 6602, 6609); otherwise full probate, often with independent administration (Prob. Code § 10400 et seq.). Amounts from Judicial Council form DE-300 (rev. April 28, 2025). source
Filing fee. First-filed petition for letters of administration or letters testamentary: $435 (Gov. Code § 70650(a)), Statewide Civil Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2026, row 124; some counties add local surcharges (asterisk in schedule). source
Personal representative. Statutory compensation for ordinary services based on the estate accounted for (inventory value plus gains on sales plus receipts, less losses, without deducting encumbrances): 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9,000,000, 0.5% of the next $15,000,000, and a reasonable amount set by the court above $25,000,000 (Prob. Code § 10800). source
Attorney. The attorney for the personal representative receives the same statutory percentages as the personal representative for ordinary services: 4% / 3% / 2% / 1% / 0.5%, court-set above $25,000,000 (Prob. Code § 10810). source
Personal representative statutory compensation (Prob. Code § 10800). 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9,000,000, 0.5% of the next $15,000,000; above $25,000,000 a reasonable amount determined by the court (Prob. Code § 10800(a)). Extraordinary services may be compensated separately (Prob. Code § 10801). source
Attorney statutory compensation (Prob. Code § 10810). Same percentages as the personal representative: 4% / 3% / 2% / 1% / 0.5% on the same brackets; above $25,000,000 a reasonable amount set by the court (Prob. Code § 10810(a)). Extraordinary services extra (Prob. Code § 10811). source