California executor fees are set by statute, not negotiated in probate. The rate starts at 4% of the first $100,000 of the estate accounted for and steps down as the estate grows.
Under California’s executor compensation statute (Probate Code section 10800), those rates apply to the value of the estate accounted for, not to the equity left after debts. An executor cannot pay themself; the fee only comes through after a court order.
How Is an Executor’s Fee Calculated in California?
California calculates an executor’s ordinary fee as a percentage of the value of the estate accounted for. The percentage falls as the estate grows.
| Estate value accounted for | Fee |
| First $100,000 | 4% |
| Next $100,000 | 3% |
| Next $800,000 | 2% |
| Next $9 million | 1% |
| Next $15 million | 0.5% |
| Over $25 million | Set by the court |
On an estate accounted for at $1,000,000, the bands produce $4,000, then $3,000, then $16,000: a $23,000 fee.
The percentages run against the property’s appraised value listed in the inventory. Add any gain when the property sells for more than that value, add what else the estate takes in, then subtract losses on sales.
That figure ignores mortgages and other debts, so a house counts at its appraised value, not the owner’s equity. This same appraised-value figure comes up throughout guiding an estate through probate.
When Does an Executor Actually Get Paid?
An executor is paid only when the probate court orders it. You cannot even ask the court for part of that pay until four months after it issues letters. Letters are the court’s document appointing the executor, formally the personal representative.
- Four months from letters: Under California’s rule for an executor’s compensation allowance (Probate Code section 10830), the executor may petition for an allowance on their compensation.
- Notice of the hearing: Notice goes to the persons the statute lists, and to heirs and devisees affected by the payment.
- A court order: The court may allow the portion it finds proper for the work done so far. That order is what lets the executor charge the estate.
At the hearing for final distribution, the court reviews compensation again. California’s rule for reducing compensation at final distribution (Section 12205) names that hearing as another place the court can make such an order.
Can the Court Reduce an Executor’s Fee?
Yes. A California probate court may reduce an executor’s compensation when the case runs too long. That same rule requires three findings before it can:
- Administration ran longer than the statute or the court allowed.
- The delay was within the executor’s or attorney’s control.
- The delay was not in the estate’s or the beneficiaries’ best interest.
The court can cut the fee even when it would otherwise be reasonable for the work done. The court can make that order at final distribution or at an allowance hearing.
Can an Executor Be Paid More Than the Statutory Fee?
An executor can be paid more than the statutory fee only when the court allows additional compensation for extraordinary services. A private deal with an heir or beneficiary never does.
Under California’s extraordinary-compensation statute (Section 10801), the court may allow that extra compensation in an amount it finds just and reasonable. The statute does not list what qualifies, so California leaves extra executor compensation to the court’s judgment.
That same statute separately lets the executor hire tax counsel or accountants, paid from estate funds. The private route stays closed: under California’s rule against side deals on executor pay (Section 10803), any agreement between the executor and an heir or devisee for more than the statute allows is void.
What If the Will Sets the Executor’s Compensation?
A will can set the executor’s pay. If it does, that clause is the whole of what the executor gets, unless the executor asks the court to be released from it. Under California’s rule on a will’s executor-compensation clause (Section 10802), an executor fee stated in the will displaces the statutory schedule.
The way out is a petition asking the court to set that clause aside, with notice to the persons the statute lists. The court can then allow more than the will provides, but only if the larger amount helps the estate and its beneficiaries.
If you are naming an executor in your will, leaving the compensation clause out keeps the statutory schedule in place.
Co-Executors and Attorney-Executors Face Two Extra Rules
Serving alongside a co-executor does not double the fee. Serving as both executor and attorney does not earn two fees either.
Under California’s rule for dividing pay among co-executors (Section 10805), the court splits one fee among co-executors, either by the work each one did or as they agree. So co-executor fees in California are one fee, not two.
Under California’s rule for an attorney serving as executor (Section 10804), an attorney serving as executor takes the executor’s fee. Being paid a second time as the estate’s attorney takes the court’s approval in advance. Trustee compensation is a separate question, and how a successor trustee’s role differs is worth checking.
The Estate Also Pays the Probate Attorney on the Same Schedule
The attorney for the personal representative is paid on the same percentage schedule. An estate normally pays two statutory fees, not one. California’s rule extending the fee schedule to the estate’s attorney (Section 10810) applies the same bands to the same estate value.
Talk to Frisella Neilson, APC About California Executor Fees
Serving as an executor is real work on top of grieving, and it is fair to want to be paid for it correctly. Before you take any pay out of an estate you are administering, talk with a probate attorney. They can confirm what the fee runs against, when you can ask for it, and what the court expects you to file.
Lisa J. Frisella, founding attorney at Frisella Neilson, APC, focuses her San Diego practice on probate and estate administration and can walk you through California executor fees for your specific estate. Call us at (619) 260-3500 or contact us to get started.
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