How probate fees work across the 50 states
Probate is the court-supervised process of validating a will (or applying intestacy law), inventorying assets, paying final debts and taxes, and distributing the remainder to heirs. The cost varies dramatically by state — from a few hundred dollars in states with streamlined small-estate procedures to tens of thousands of dollars in California, where the statutory fee schedule produces some of the highest executor and attorney fees in the country.
Three fee models
American probate fees fall into three broad models:
- Statutory percentage schedules — California, Florida, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Wyoming, and Arizona prescribe sliding-scale percentages based on the estate's gross value. Both the executor and the attorney typically receive the same schedule amount.
- "Reasonable fee" standard — Most states (including New York, Texas, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) require fees to be "reasonable" based on the lodestar factors: time, skill, complexity, and result. Local custom typically lands in the range of 2%–5% of the estate.
- Hourly billing — Some states and individual attorneys prefer hourly billing, especially for complex or contested estates. Rates range from $250/hr in rural counties to $650+/hr in major metropolitan markets.
The California statutory schedule (Probate Code § 10800, § 10801)
California's executor and attorney fees are computed on a sliding scale applied to the gross estate (not the net). Both receive the same amount, so the total statutory cost doubles the schedule figure.
| Estate value | Fee |
|---|---|
| First $100,000 | 4% ($4,000) |
| Next $100,000 ($100K–$200K) | 3% ($3,000) |
| Next $800,000 ($200K–$1M) | 2% ($16,000) |
| Next $9M ($1M–$10M) | 1% ($90,000) |
| Next $15M ($10M–$25M) | 0.5% ($75,000) |
| Above $25M | "Reasonable" — court decides |
On a $500,000 California estate, executor + attorney statutory fees total $23,000 — before court costs, publication, appraisal, and accounting fees.
Small-estate shortcuts
Every state offers a simplified procedure for estates below a threshold. The thresholds vary widely: $50,000 in New York, $100,000 in California (with a simplified affidavit), $150,000 in Texas, and as much as $275,000 in Washington. When the estate qualifies, probate can often be avoided entirely through a small-estate affidavit — see our small-estate affidavit guide for state-by-state thresholds.
What drives the timeline
Probate typically takes 6–12 months for a simple estate with no disputes. Three factors extend it: (1) creditor claim periods of 4–6 months in most states; (2) the need to sell real estate, which adds 60–180 days; and (3) contested proceedings, which can add a year or more. Our state-by-state probate walk-through covers each step in detail.