Probate Fees Explained: Costs, Court Fees & How to Avoid Them

Probate fees vary by state but the core costs are similar. See what attorneys, courts and Executors charge, and which steps can keep an estate out of probate.

By Maya Powers

Estate Planning Content Expert, Trust & Will

Probate is the court-supervised legal process of settling an estate after someone passes away. In simple terms, your estate first pays any debts and taxes, and then what remains is distributed according to the instructions you leave about Beneficiaries and inheritances. Depending on how your Estate Plan is set up, some or all of your assets may need to go through probate before your heirs receive them.

It’s important to understand that not all estates need to go through probate. And there are smart, strategic ways you can make probate easier or even eliminate it altogether.

Why would you want to avoid or simplify the probate process? In short, because probate can be a heavy burden on your loved ones. It’s often time-consuming, expensive and stressful for those left to navigate it.

Breakdown of the Most Common Probate Fees

Perhaps one of the biggest drawbacks to probate is the cost. And the more it costs, the less inheritance your Beneficiaries will receive. Total cost can vary widely, depending on a number of factors including:

The state where you live, and any other state where you own real estate
The size of your estate
How complicated your Estate Plan is
Whether or not someone contests any part of your plan

That said, a few categories of fees show up in nearly every probate case. Here are the most common ones.

Cost of a Probate Attorney and Accounting Fees

Many people feel more comfortable hiring a probate attorney to help them navigate the process. A few states, including Florida and Texas, require the estate’s representative to have an attorney in most formal probates, and some individual courts have similar local rules, but most states leave it optional. A probate lawyer’s fees (and most other costs of probate) are paid out of the estate, so your family generally won’t bear them personally. An Executor who fronts a cost like the filing fee is typically reimbursed from the estate. But again, accounting and probate attorney fees will ultimately reduce the overall value of your estate. At the end of the day, that’s money that could be going to your Beneficiaries.

Probate lawyer fees can vary. Lawyers can charge hourly or a flat rate. Some states allow probate attorneys to charge a fee based on a percentage of the estate value. Estates also frequently need an accountant or tax preparer to file the deceased person’s final income tax return and, if the estate earns income during administration, a separate estate income tax return.

Court Fees

Any time you go to court, you should expect to pay some sort of fees. For probate court, fees can depend on individual county and state filing fees, as well as other factors. There is no national probate fee schedule, so like attorney fees, court costs depend on where the estate is being settled. But you should expect to pay most of the following common fees along the way:

Filing Fee. The initial fee you’ll pay to petition the court and open the estate. Most states charge a flat fee, while a few scale it to the estimated size of the estate. Filing fees in most states run between $50 and $500, and states that scale the fee to estate size can charge more than $1,000 for larger estates.
Certificate Fee. There will be a fee to issue common certificates you’ll need. You’ll likely be asked for Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration at some point. These official certificates have the court’s seal and authorize an Administrator or Executor to act on the deceased estate owner’s behalf. You’ll need this for several institutions like the DMV, banks, insurance companies, etc. Certified copies often cost $5 to $25 each. Some institutions require an original certified copy while others accept a photocopy, and you can order extra copies from the court if you run short.
Notifications. Part of settling an estate includes notifying Beneficiaries and heirs. It’s best to do this through certified mail with a signature requirement. You may also be required to publish a public notice announcing the estate in a local newspaper. Certified mail costs a few dollars per notice, and newspaper publication is usually the larger expense, often running from under $100 to several hundred dollars depending on the paper.

Executor and Bond Fees

A Surety Bond isn’t always required, and many Wills directly state one is not needed. If this is the case, most often a court will allow you to forgo the bond. A Surety Bond insures the estate against losses caused by a representative’s mistakes or misconduct. If a bond is required, the bond amount is generally set based on the estimated value of the estate, and the estate pays a premium to the bonding company, which is a small fraction of that amount.

Executors are entitled to reimbursement from the estate for reasonable expenses they incur, such as travel, tax preparation, postage and supplies. Separately, Executors can also be paid for the work itself, and state law governs how much. A handful of states, including California, New York and Florida, set the fee as a percentage of the estate on a sliding scale, while most states allow whatever the court considers reasonable, which in practice often falls somewhere between 1 and 5 percent of the estate’s value. Executors who are also Beneficiaries frequently waive the fee, since the fee is taxable income while an inheritance generally is not.

Other Fees

There may be other miscellaneous fees related to probate. Some of these could include:

Appraisal Fees
Postage Fees
Business Valuation Fees
Notary Fees
Storage Fees
Estate Sale Prep Fees
Real Estate Commissions (if property is sold)

Probate Costs by State

Because probate is governed by state law rather than a single national system, the cost of probate varies depending on the state you’re in and the size of the estate. The biggest drivers are whether your state sets attorney and Executor fees by statute, how its court filing fees are structured, and whether its small estate threshold lets you skip formal probate. Wondering what probate fees look like in your state? Our state-specific guides break down the cost of probate in each one.

Can You Avoid Paying Probate Fees?

Looking for ways to set up your estate so it pays less in probate fees, or avoids them entirely? There are several well-established strategies, and most of them can be combined.

Create a Trust. Assets held in a Revocable Living Trust generally pass to your Beneficiaries without going through probate, which can make settling your estate simpler, cheaper and more private. Probate is a public court proceeding, while a Trust is administered privately. The catch is that a Trust only avoids probate for assets that have actually been retitled into it, so creating a Trust and funding it properly go hand in hand.
Add Payable on Death or Transfer on Death Designations. Payable on Death (POD) designations on bank accounts and Transfer on Death (TOD) designations on investment accounts and, in many states, real estate and vehicle titles let those assets pass directly to your named Beneficiaries. The institution releases the asset once it receives a death certificate and a claim form, with no court involvement and often no fee.
Name Beneficiaries on Life Insurance and Retirement Accounts. Life insurance policies and retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs pass by Beneficiary designation, so the payout goes directly to the person you named and skips probate. The one way this fails is naming your estate as the Beneficiary, or leaving the designation blank, which pulls the asset back into probate.
Keep Your Beneficiaries Current and Name Contingent Beneficiaries. It’s a good idea to review your Beneficiary designations every few years and after any major life event such as a marriage, divorce, birth or death. Naming contingent Beneficiaries (backups) in case your first choice has passed away or declines the inheritance matters too. If a primary Beneficiary has died and no contingent is named, that asset usually has to go through probate anyway.
Title Property Jointly with Right of Survivorship. When property is titled as joint tenants with right of survivorship (or, for married couples in some states, as tenants by the entirety), your share passes automatically to the surviving owner at your death without probate. Not every form of joint ownership works this way. Property held as tenants in common does go through probate. Some community property states also let spouses hold community property with right of survivorship, which achieves the same result.
Use Your State’s Small Estate Procedure. Most states let estates under a set value use a simplified affidavit or summary process that is faster and cheaper than formal probate. The threshold varies widely, from a few thousand dollars in some states to well over $100,000 in others.

How Long Does Probate Take?

Probate can take anywhere from a few months to several years to fully complete. For most estates of average size, the process typically takes six months to two years. The low end of that range is partly set by law, since most states require the estate to stay open for a creditor claim period that runs from a few months to a year depending on the state. If an estate is especially large, if any heirs contest anything, or if Beneficiaries cannot be found, the process can stretch well beyond that. Keep in mind, the longer the process takes, the more expensive it becomes.

None of this is inevitable. Setting up your Estate Plan with probate in mind can spare your loved ones much of the time, cost and stress described above, and let them move toward closure sooner after your loss. That may be one of the most meaningful gifts you can leave your family.

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