Fees and Costs

The usual costs of a formal probate court proceeding in California include court filing fees, probate referee’s appraisal fees, miscellaneous certification and recording fees and attorney’s fees. Court costs can run between $600 and $900. By far, attorney’s fees constitute the largest expense of a probate proceeding.

California has a system for calculating attorneys’ fees that fixes the maximum amount an attorney may charge for a formal probate court proceeding. The fee is based on a percentage of the gross value of the probate property, regardless of liens or encumbrances against the assets. For example, if an estate has a gross value of $500,000 (today little more than a house and car in California), the attorney may charge a statutory fee of $13,000. Estates under $100,000 normally do not require formal probate, but many attorneys refuse to accept small probate cases. The most significant problem with the percentage compensation system is that it has little or nothing to do with the amount of work an attorney actually performs.

At Probate Direct, we charge a flat fee of $2,800 to prepare and process all the forms to complete a formal probate court proceeding, regardless of the size, as long as there are no unusual problems. For summary administration and other procedures, we charge $95 an hour.

* Filing fees and other court costs are not included in the Probate Direct fee.