California sets ordinary probate fees by statute, so the cost of administering an estate follows a formula. The personal representative and the estate’s attorney are each paid on the same sliding scale. These sections explain how the scale works and what can change the total.
Probate Code Section 10800 sets the ordinary compensation of a personal representative, the person a will names as executor, as a percentage of the estate value accounted for. The percentages drop at each tier, as shown here:
For any value above $25,000,000, the court decides a reasonable amount.
A $500,000 estate doesn’t pay 2 percent on the whole amount. The first $100,000 is charged at 4 percent, or $4,000, the next $100,000 at 3 percent, or $3,000, and the remaining $300,000 at 2 percent, or $6,000. That adds up to $13,000 for the personal representative.
The statute measures the estate by the inventory appraisal, plus gains over appraisal value on sales and receipts, minus losses on sales. Encumbrances and other obligations on estate property aren’t subtracted. A house appraised at $600,000 counts at that figure even with a mortgage attached, so the fee base can be larger than the equity the heirs receive.
Because the base is appraised value, the size of the estate matters more than the number of tasks involved. Families weighing these costs can ask an Orange probate lawyer to estimate the fee base from the likely inventory.
Probate Code Section 10810 sets the ordinary compensation of the personal representative’s attorney on the same percentage tiers, measured on the same estate value. Each role carries its own statutory fee, so a $500,000 estate has two ordinary fees of $13,000 each.
The fee pays for the legal work that moves an estate from petition to closing. A plain description of what probate lawyers do shows where that work falls.
Probate Code Section 10811 lets the court approve additional pay for the attorney’s extraordinary services, in an amount that is fair and reasonable. Work by a paralegal under the attorney’s supervision is one example the statute names, and the fee petition has to list the paralegal’s hours and describe the work. A personal representative can ask for additional pay for extraordinary work in the same way, and the court sets that amount too.
Errors can create more work for the court and for the estate’s attorney. A list of costly executor mistakes shows where estates lose money.
Property titled in a living trust isn’t part of the probate estate, so the sliding scale doesn’t measure it. Property owners can ask an Orange living trust lawyer which assets belong in a trust and how that choice affects what goes through court.
Smaller estates have another route. California allows small-estate procedures that can avoid full court administration for qualifying estates. Qualifying depends on the estate’s value and the kinds of assets involved.
When a trust holds the assets, the successor trustee follows a different path from the probate court. Families handling that work can turn to an Orange trust administration lawyer for the steps that apply. Trust administration follows its own rules, which an attorney can explain separately.
At Katje Law Group, we handle probate, trust administration, and estate planning for families in Orange County. Attorney September Katje holds a J.D. from California Western School of Law and has been admitted to the California State Bar since 2003. She is also a licensed California Real Estate Broker, which helps when an estate includes real property. She has been a member of the Orange County Bar Association since 2018.
Before a petition is filed, it helps to know the likely fee base and which assets will be counted. Families can reach out to us with the inventory they have so far, and an Orange probate lawyer can lay out how the tiers apply to that estate.
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Ms. Katje earned her Juris Doctorate at California Western School of Law, San Diego, California, graduated Cum Laude and was a Dean’s Honor List recipient. She was also a recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award in Contracts I and Contracts II. Ms. Katje was a member of the Law Review and International Law Journal at California Western School Law, where she was an Associate Editor.
