How much does probate cost in California? A plain-English breakdown.

If you've just lost a parent and someone has told you the estate "has to go through probate," you're probably wondering two things: how much is this going to cost, and how long is it going to take. Those are fair questions, and most people are surprised by the answers.

The short version: in California, probate is rarely cheap, and the fees are set by state law rather than negotiated. The part that catches families off guard is that the cost is based on what your house is worth, not on how much of it you actually own. The good news is that for most Kings County and Tulare County families, probate is avoidable with a little planning. Let me walk you through all of it the way I'd explain it at my kitchen table.

First, what probate actually is

Probate is the court process for settling the estate of someone who has died. A judge oversees it. The court confirms who is in charge, makes sure debts and taxes are paid, and then signs off on who gets what. It's a public process with a fixed set of steps, and it takes time.

You end up in probate when someone passes away owning assets in their own name with no plan in place to transfer them. Most often that asset is a house. If there's a will, the will gets carried out through probate. If there's no will at all, the court still runs the process and follows California's default rules. Either way, the process and the fees are the same.

The part that surprises everyone: fees are based on gross value

California is unusual. In most states, an attorney charges by the hour for probate work. Here, the Probate Code sets the fee on a sliding scale, and the same scale applies twice: once for the attorney handling the case, and once for the executor (the person running the estate).

The schedule works like this:

• 4% of the first $100,000
• 3% of the next $100,000
• 2% of the next $800,000
• 1% of the next $9 million
• 0.5% of the next $15 million

Now here's the catch, and it's a big one. That fee is calculated on the gross value of the estate, meaning the full appraised value of everything, before any mortgage or debt is subtracted.

Think about what that means in our area. Say your mother's home in Hanford appraises at $500,000, and she still owed $300,000 on it. Her real equity, what the family would walk away with, is $200,000. But California calculates the probate fee on the full $500,000. The court doesn't care about the mortgage.

What that looks like in real numbers

Let me put actual figures on a few estate sizes, because the percentages don't mean much until you do.

A $500,000 estate (a modest Valley home, maybe with a small bank account): The statutory fee is about $13,000 for the attorney, and the law entitles the executor to another $13,000. That's up to $26,000 in statutory fees alone.

A $1,000,000 estate (an average home plus some savings, or a home that's appreciated over the years): About $23,000 for the attorney, and another $23,000 the executor is entitled to. That comes to roughly $46,000 in statutory fees.

A family farm or a couple of parcels of ag land can push the gross value far higher, and the fee climbs right along with it. None of that is negotiable in the way most legal fees are. The schedule is the schedule.

"The fees aren't a surprise to me. I deal with them every day. But they're almost always a surprise to families. A $500,000 home sounds like plenty for the kids to inherit. Then you subtract the mortgage, the statutory fees, and 18 months of waiting, and it looks very different."

Jonette M. Montgomery

And there's more on top of the statutory fees

The attorney and executor fees are the largest piece, but they aren't the whole bill. A typical California probate also runs through:

• Court filing fees: about $435 to open the case, and roughly another $435 to close it out at the end.
• The probate referee: the state appoints an appraiser to value the non-cash assets, paid at 0.1% of what they appraise. On a $1,000,000 estate, that's around $1,000.
• Publication costs: the law requires a legal notice to run in a newspaper, usually a few hundred dollars.
• A bond, in some cases, plus certified copies and recording fees here and there.

Add it all up and a routine California probate often costs somewhere between 4% and 7% of the estate's gross value. And that money comes out of the estate before anyone inherits a dime.

How long does it take?

Cost is only half the question. The other half is time. A routine California probate generally takes 12 to 18 months from start to finish, and that's when nothing goes wrong. If real estate has to be sold, if a creditor files a claim, or if the family disagrees about anything, it takes longer.

For a grieving family, a year and a half of court supervision is its own kind of cost, even setting the money aside.

The good news: most Valley families can avoid all of this

Here's what I want you to take away, because it's the most important part. Probate is largely avoidable. The fees above are what it costs when there's no plan. With a plan, most of it doesn't apply.

Small estates have a shortcut. California lets families use a simplified affidavit process for smaller estates instead of full probate. The dollar threshold is adjusted by the state periodically, so the exact figure depends on the date of death. But for a lot of folks whose savings are modest and who don't own real estate, full probate isn't necessary at all.

There's a newer option for a modest home. California recently created a streamlined court procedure for transferring a primary residence valued up to $750,000. For a family whose main asset is the house they've lived in for decades, that can dramatically cut the cost and the wait compared to traditional probate.

A living trust avoids probate entirely. This is the big one. Assets held in a properly funded living trust pass directly to your family under the terms you set, without the court process, the statutory fee schedule, or the 18-month wait. The cost of setting up a trust while you're alive is a small fraction of what probate would cost your family later, and it spares them the court process during a hard time.

I'll be honest with you, the way I am with everyone who sits across my desk: not every family needs a trust. If you don't own real estate and your accounts already name beneficiaries, a simple will may be enough. Sometimes what you already have is enough. I'm not going to talk you into documents you don't need. But if you own a home in Kings or Tulare County, it's worth understanding what probate would cost your family, and what it would take to avoid it.

What to do next

If you've recently lost someone and you're trying to figure out whether their estate has to go through probate, that's a question worth answering early, before anyone advances filing fees or signs anything. And if you're planning ahead for your own family, the kindest thing you can do is make sure they never have to find out how this process works firsthand.

Either way, I'm happy to talk it through. You can call the office or send a message through the contact page, and we'll figure out where you stand together.

How are probate fees set in California?

By state law. The statutory fees are calculated as a percentage of the gross value of the estate, meaning your home's full appraised value rather than your equity, and both the attorney and the executor are each entitled to that fee.

How long does probate usually take?

Eight to eighteen months is typical in California, and it can run longer when there are complications or family disagreements.

Can my family avoid probate?

Usually yes. A funded living trust is the most common way. California also has simplified procedures for small estates that let some families skip formal probate entirely.