California Probate Code 10810 sets the statutory fee that the attorney for an estate collects for ordinary probate services, using a sliding percentage of the estate’s gross value. The tiers are identical to those in Section 10800, which governs the executor’s compensation. Because both the executor and the attorney draw a fee under the same schedule, a probated estate effectively pays the percentage twice.
The Section 10810 Fee Schedule
The attorney’s compensation for ordinary services is calculated on the value of the estate accounted for by the executor, at these rates:1California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 10810
- 4% on the first $100,000
- 3% on the next $100,000
- 2% on the next $800,000
- 1% on the next $9,000,000
- 0.5% on the next $15,000,000
- A reasonable amount determined by the court on everything above $25,000,000
The tiers stack. They are not alternatives. On a $500,000 estate the attorney fee is 4% of the first $100,000 ($4,000), plus 3% of the next $100,000 ($3,000), plus 2% of the remaining $300,000 ($6,000), for $13,000. The executor collects the same $13,000 under Section 10800, so combined statutory fees run to $26,000 before anything extraordinary is added.
How the Estate Value Is Measured
The base for the calculation is the appraised value of everything listed in the probate inventory, adjusted by gains on sales and receipts collected during administration, and reduced by losses on sales. Encumbrances are not deducted.2Justia Law. California Probate Code 10800-10805 If the estate’s principal asset is a home appraised at $800,000 carrying a $400,000 mortgage, the fee is calculated on $800,000. The mortgage does not reduce it.
Families often find this counterintuitive. An estate that owes $600,000 against $1.2 million in gross assets still generates attorney fees based on the full $1.2 million, even though the beneficiaries will ultimately share far less.
Assets That Fall Outside the Calculation
Only property that actually moves through probate feeds the fee base. Several common transfers happen outside probate and never touch Section 10810:
- Assets held in a revocable or irrevocable living trust, which pass to trust beneficiaries directly.
- Real estate or accounts held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, which pass automatically to the surviving owner.
- Life insurance, retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs, and payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts, which pay out to named beneficiaries.
Moving assets into a living trust before death removes them from the fee base for both the attorney under 10810 and the executor under 10800. That is one of the reasons California estate planners push trusts so heavily.
A $1 Million Estate, Worked Through
Take an estate with a gross probate value of $1,000,000:
- 4% of the first $100,000 = $4,000
- 3% of the next $100,000 = $3,000
- 2% of the remaining $800,000 = $16,000
The attorney’s statutory fee is $23,000. The executor is entitled to the same $23,000 under Section 10800, bringing combined statutory compensation to $46,000.2Justia Law. California Probate Code 10800-108051California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 10810 Court filing fees, appraiser costs, and any extraordinary compensation come on top of that.
Extraordinary Compensation Under Section 10811
The 10810 percentages cover ordinary services: gathering and inventorying assets, handling debts and taxes, preparing the required accountings, and closing out distribution. When the legal work goes materially beyond that, the attorney can petition the court for extraordinary fees under Probate Code 10811.3California Legislative Information. California Probate Code PROB 10811
Typical extraordinary work includes selling estate real estate, litigating a will contest, resolving complex tax disputes, or handling a business the decedent owned. There is no formula. The petition needs a detailed accounting of the hours spent and the services performed, and the court decides whether the work was genuinely outside ordinary administration and whether the amount requested is reasonable. Without contemporaneous time records and a clear explanation of necessity, extraordinary fee requests rarely succeed.
When the Executor and the Attorney Are the Same Person
If the executor is a licensed attorney, they cannot automatically collect both the executor fee under 10800 and the attorney fee under 10810. Probate Code 10804 allows the executor’s compensation, but bars the same person from also receiving attorney fees unless the court approves the arrangement in advance and finds it benefits the estate.2Justia Law. California Probate Code 10800-10805 In practice, courts allow the double compensation only when the attorney-executor can show the estate is better off than it would be hiring outside counsel.
Court Approval and Beneficiary Objections
Statutory fees under 10810 are not automatic. The attorney is paid only after the court approves compensation on a petition supported by a detailed accounting of the estate’s assets, income, expenses, and distributions. Beneficiaries receive notice and can object.
The court weighs objections against factors like the complexity of the estate and how the administration was handled. If the attorney’s work extended the probate unnecessarily or produced avoidable problems, the court can reduce compensation even within the statutory framework. The 10810 schedule sets the ceiling for ordinary services, but the fee still has to be earned and approved before it is paid.