California

California probate is heard in the Superior Court of the county where the person lived, under
the Probate Code. It is more formal, slower and more expensive than most states — which is why
so much California estate planning is built around avoiding it.

The usual path

The petitioner files a Petition for Probate, publishes notice in a newspaper, notifies the
heirs and beneficiaries, and attends a hearing. The court issues Letters Testamentary (with a
will) or Letters of Administration (without). Most estates are administered under the
Independent Administration of Estates Act, which lets the personal representative sell assets
and pay debts without returning to court for each step.

Timeline and cost

A California probate commonly runs 12 to 18 months, longer if real property has to be sold or
a creditor claim is disputed. Statutory attorney's fees and personal representative compensation
are both set as a percentage of the gross value of the estate — the mortgage on a house does
not reduce the fee base.

Avoiding probate

• A revocable living trust with assets properly retitled into it — the standard California
  approach.
• Transfer on death designations, and a revocable transfer-on-death deed for residential
  real property.
• Community property with right of survivorship between spouses, and the simplified spousal
  property petition.
• A small estate affidavit under Probate Code §13100 for estates under the statutory
  threshold. That threshold is adjusted periodically and was substantially revised in recent
  years, with a separate, higher figure for a decedent's primary residence — check the current
  amount with the court before relying on it.

Creditors

Known creditors must be given notice, and claims are generally due within four months of
letters being issued.

California is comparatively forgiving about form, and strict about capacity and undue influence.

Formal wills — Probate Code §6110

• In writing, signed by the testator (or in their name at their direction, or by a
  conservator under court order).
• Signed by two witnesses, both present at the same time, who saw the signing or heard the
  testator acknowledge it, and who understood the document to be the testator's will.
• The testator must be 18 or older and of sound mind.

If a will fails the witnessing requirement, California allows it to be admitted anyway on clear
and convincing evidence that the testator intended it as their will — a safety valve most states
do not have. Do not rely on it; it costs a contested hearing to use.

Holographic wills — §6111

A will is valid without any witnesses if the signature and all material provisions are in
the testator's own handwriting. A filled-in printed form is a common failure point: if the
dispositive words are printed rather than handwritten, the document may fail as a holograph.

Statutory will

California publishes a statutory will — a standard fill-in form for simple estates. It is
valid and free, but rigid.

Watch for

• Community property. A married Californian generally cannot give away their spouse's half of
  community property by will.
• Omitted spouse and omitted children rules give a share to a spouse married, or a child born,
  after the will was made, unless the will shows the omission was deliberate.
• Gifts to the drafter, the caregiver, or their families are presumptively the product of undue
  influence and are often void.
• Divorce revokes provisions in favour of the former spouse.

Yes, and California sets the amount by statute. Probate Code §10800 fixes the personal
representative's ordinary compensation as a percentage of the gross value of the estate
accounted for:

• 4% of the first $100,000
• 3% of the next $100,000
• 2% of the next $800,000
• 1% of the next $9,000,000
• 0.5% of the next $15,000,000
• above $25,000,000, an amount the court determines to be reasonable

Gross, not net

The percentages apply to the gross value. A house worth $900,000 with an $800,000 mortgage
counts as $900,000, not $100,000. This is why California statutory fees feel disproportionate on
mortgaged real estate.

The attorney gets the same again

Under §10810 the estate's attorney is entitled to the same statutory schedule, paid separately
by the estate. Budget for both.

Extraordinary compensation

The court may award more under §10801 for extraordinary services — selling a business, litigating
a claim, handling a tax controversy — but it must be requested and justified.

Timing

Compensation is paid on court approval, normally at the final accounting. Taking fees before
approval is a surcharge risk.

Tax

Statutory compensation is ordinary income. A personal representative who is also a beneficiary
often waives the fee, since an inheritance is not taxable income while a fee is — and where the
estate is a trust administration instead, the trustee's fee is governed by the trust's terms and a
reasonableness standard rather than §10800.

A California personal representative is reimbursed from the estate for the necessary expenses of
administration, separately from the statutory compensation under §10800.

Normally claimable

• Funeral and burial or cremation costs.
• Court filing fees, certified copies, and the required newspaper publication.
• Probate referee's fees — California appoints one to appraise non-cash assets.
• Attorney's fees (statutory) and accountant's fees for the estate's tax returns.
• Bond premiums, where the will does not waive bond.
• Carrying costs on estate real property until sale: property tax, insurance, utilities,
  maintenance, security, HOA dues, mortgage interest.
• Cleaning, clearing, storage and shipping of personal property.
• Travel on estate business at a reasonable rate.
• Postage, couriers, recording fees, title and lien searches.

Normally not claimable

• The representative's lost wages or personal living costs — the statutory fee covers time.
• Expenses serving one beneficiary rather than the estate.
• Improvements beyond preparing a property for sale.
• Anything undocumented.

Practical rule

Get an EIN, open an estate account, and pay everything from it. Every disbursement appears in
the accounting filed with the Superior Court, which reviews it before approving distribution.
Keep receipts and a dated mileage and time log from the first week.

Not required — but California's probate cost structure and property values make the question more
consequential here than in most states.

Consider a bank, trust company or professional fiduciary when

• The estate holds a business, rental portfolio, agricultural land, or concentrated stock.
• A contest is likely, or there is an undue-influence or capacity issue in the background.
• A beneficiary is a minor or incapacitated, or a special needs trust is involved.
• The intended representative lives out of state — a non-resident can serve, but the court may
  require a bond, and distance makes the property management genuinely hard.
• There is real property in more than one state, requiring ancillary probate.
• The family is already in conflict.

California licenses private professional fiduciaries through the Professional Fiduciaries
Bureau — usually cheaper than a bank's trust department and a real option for mid-sized estates.

Cost

A corporate fiduciary charges on its own schedule, typically with a minimum annual fee; a licensed
private fiduciary charges hourly or by agreement. Either way, get it in writing before appointing.

The bigger lever

For most California families the decisive question is not who administers the probate but
whether there is a probate at all. A properly funded revocable living trust avoids the
statutory fees on both sides and keeps the estate out of the public record. If the estate is large
enough that professional administration is in question, a trust is worth pricing first.

A nominee who does not want to serve can decline before appointment, or petition for
resignation afterwards with the court's approval and a full accounting.