California Executor Fee Calculator

California is one of the states that sets executor compensation by formula rather than by “reasonableness.” Probate Code §10800 walks the estate’s value through tiers: 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9 million, and 0.5% of the next $15 million; above $25 million the court sets a reasonable amount for the excess. The tiers stack — a larger estate doesn’t re-rate the earlier dollars, it just adds thinner slices on top.

The same statute’s neighbor, §10810, gives the estate’s attorney a fee on the identical schedule for ordinary services. That doubling surprises almost everyone: whatever the schedule produces, the estate typically owes it twice — once to the person doing the work of administration, once to counsel — before filing fees, publication, and the probate referee’s appraisal charge. It is the main reason Californians hear so much about living trusts.

The base matters as much as the rates. The fee is computed on the estate accounted for — the inventory’s appraised value plus gains and receipts, minus losses — with no deduction for debt. A $700,000 house with a $500,000 mortgage counts at $700,000. And property that bypasses probate entirely — joint accounts, payable on death designations, trust assets — never enters the base at all.

A worked example

Take a $500,000 estate. The first $100,000 earns 4% = $4,000; the next $100,000 earns 3% = $3,000; the remaining $300,000 sits in the 2% tier = $6,000. The executor’s ordinary fee: $13,000. The attorney’s ordinary fee under §10810: another $13,000. Together, $26,000 — 5.2% of the estate — before anyone counts court costs. On a $1,000,000 estate the same math gives $23,000 each, $46,000 combined: a smaller percentage (4.6%) of a bigger number, because the later tiers are thinner.

Both fees are for ordinary services. Selling real property, running a business, or handling litigation can support additional “extraordinary” fees the court approves separately — so the statutory figure is the floor of what a complicated estate pays, and the executor’s honest ledger of what was done is what justifies anything beyond it.

Common questions

Does the executor have to take the fee? No — it can be waived, wholly or partly, and family executors often do. The mechanics worth knowing: the fee is taxable income to the executor, while an inheritance generally isn’t. An executor who is also the main beneficiary may keep more after tax by waiving and inheriting instead. That’s a fact about how the two are taxed, not a recommendation — estates differ, and a tax professional can run your actual numbers.

Does the attorney really get the same amount? For ordinary services, yes — same schedule, by statute. It’s a ceiling for ordinary work, not a floor: an attorney can agree to less, the statute makes the fee negotiable downward, and it is normal to ask. Extraordinary services are extra, with court approval.

Which estates does this apply to? Estates going through California probate. Small estates under the state’s summary-administration threshold can often skip formal probate entirely, and trust administrations follow the trust’s terms instead — different track, different rules. When in doubt, that first conversation with a probate attorney is where the track gets picked.

This is the statutory arithmetic as of September 2026 — Probate Code §§10800 and 10810, verified against the codes on Sep 2, 2026. It is mechanics, not legal or tax advice: courts approve fees, statutes get amended, and your estate’s facts decide what applies.