It has become easier for executors and administrators to open a probate in 2008.  The filing fee paid to the county court has been set at $320 (in Riverside County there is an additional fee of $15 to pay for the courthouse).  The other major probate fees are still due at the time they have always been due.  These include the fee for publication; the probate referee’s fee; and the fee for the bond, if any.

Prior to this year, the filing fee was based on an estimate made by the administrator or executor as to the value of the probate estate. Making an intentionally low estimate helped in the short run as the filing fee paid to the county was based on the estimate.  However, ultimately, the court received what it was due because the petition for final distribution would not be granted without a showing that the correct fees had been paid to the court.

The fee that the court ultimately receives is set by a fee schedule found in California Government Code Section 70650 and it provides:

$320 for estates or trusts under $250,000;

$385 for estates or trusts between $250,000 and $500,000;

$485 for estates or trusts between $500,000 and $750,000;

$635 for estates or trusts between $750,000 and $1,000,000

$1,135 for estates or trusts between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000.

The fees increase from there.

A benefit of this new rule is that it makes it easier for administrators and executors to begin the probate process.  Previously, they may have had to loan a large amount of the filing fee to the estate.  Now, virtually all of the time they will be able to pay these fees from the probate estate when the estate is in a position to close.

There has been a wrinkle thrown in as a state appellate court as recently found that the probate fee schedule violates the California state constitution.

Stay tuned!