|
Copyright 2002, Marc S. Weissman Weiss & Weissman, San Francisco, California (650) 574-0362 To Contact us: email Phone/Fax/Mail Homepage Return to Legal Fee Schedule |
In California, Probate Legal Fees are a percentage of the Gross Probate Estate.
Gross Probate Estate excludes assets held in a manner which avoids Probate. [Excluded from Probate are assets held in a Living Trust, or by Joint Tenancy, Life Insurance payable to a beneficiary other than the estate, Retirement Plans, and any other "pay on death" assets.]
The Gross Probate Estate is the total value of the estate BEFORE reduction for debts. If a house is worth a million bucks, but it has a mortgage of the same amount, there is no value to anyone but the lawyer, who gets a $23,000 Probate Fee.
The new 2002 percentages are:
| first $100,000 | 4% = | $4,000 |
| next $100,000 | 3% = | $3,000 |
| next 800,000 | 2% = | $16,000 |
A $1,000,000 gross value estate is worth $23,000 in fees to a lawyer who charges the Statutory Fee, even if the net value of the estate is worth a lot less after reduction for mortgages and other debts.
Of course, if there are complications, extra fees are allowed, with Court approval which is routinely granted.
Our firm has a different policy. By law, we can never charge more than the Statutory Fee, but why can't we charge less? The law does not prohibit smaller fees!
We charge hourly fees for Probate matters, but cannot exceed the Statutory Fee. And we do them efficiently. Our hourly fee is often less than half of the Statutory Fee charged by most lawyers.
Return to Legal Fee Schedule