How Much Does Probate Cost and Who Pays These Costs?
Conducting a court supervised probate proceeding in California includes a variety of costs. These include court filing fees, executor and attorney fees, publication costs, and fees paid to the probate referee. The below outline includes a closer examination of these fees and who will typically pay then and presumes that the estate in question has more assets than liabilities. This discussion does not include payment to estate creditors or other liabilities of the estate.
Publication Costs:
Amount: In for a Petition for Probate to be granted, the court must receive proof that notice of the petition has been published in a “publication of general circulation” in the county that the decedent lived in. Publication fees vary widely, from around $50 up to several hundred dollars.
Who Pays: Like filing costs, these fees are generally paid in advance by the filing party, or their attorney, who is later reimbursed from the estate.
Court Filing Fees:
Amount: These fees are set by statute in California and include $435 to file the DE-111 Petition for Probate. Some counties also include a relatively small surcharge in addition to this amount. The same $435 amount, plus surcharge if applicable, also applies to the Petition for Final Distribution. It is also typical for a court to charge for a certified copy of DE-150 Letters http, typically around $50.
Who Pays: Ultimately, these fees may be charged to the estate but it they are generally required to be paid in advance of filing by the filing party. Once probate is opened and the courts grants approval, the filing party may be reimbursed by the estate. If the filing party has retained an attorney, the attorney may also advance these costs and later be reimbursed by the estate.
Executor and Attorney Fees:
Amount: Executor and attorney fees typically comprise the largest portion of probate costs and are calculated as a percentage of the estate’s total assets. The percentages are calculated as follows:
(1) Four percent on the first one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).
(2) Three percent on the next one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).
(3) Two percent on the next eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,000).
(4) One percent on the next nine million dollars ($9,000,000).
(5) One-half of one percent on the next fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000).
(6) For all amounts above twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000), a reasonable amount to be determined by the court.
For example, an estate with a total value of $200,000 the executor and attorney would each received $7,000 (4% of the first $100,000 + 3% of the next $100,000). Attorneys and executors may also receive reasonable additional payment for “extraordinary services,” which may include actions such as selling or leasing real property, handling audits, defense of a contested will, or extraordinary efforts to locate assets, among other things.
Who Pays: Executor and attorney fees are paid directly from the estate after the probate has been opened.
Probate Referee Fees:
Amount: Probate referee’s fees set by law and are 0.1% of the estate property that is appraised by the probate referee. Such property would include most non-cash assets like real estate, mutual funds, stocks, or mineral rights.
Who Pays: Like executor and attorney fees, the probate referee is paid directly from the estate after probate has been opened.
These fees do not include any and all costs that may arise during the course of a probate but these fees are most typically included in any estates and are usually paid as described above.
