How Much Does Probate Cost by State?

Probate is the court-supervised process that transfers a deceased person's assets to heirs and pays valid creditor claims. There is no federal probate system, so what it costs, and how long it takes, is decided state by state. The spread is wide: a court filing fee runs from $30 in New Mexico to $750 in Rhode Island, attorney fees are set by statute in six states, and the mandatory creditor period that keeps an estate open ranges from three months in Florida to a full year in Pennsylvania.

This study compiles probate costs across all 50 states for 2026. It covers court filing fees, small-estate thresholds, and estimated attorney fees for every state, plus executor compensation rules and creditor claim periods for the 22 states where Settled Estate maintains a full verified dataset. Filing fees and statutory thresholds come from state statutes and county court fee schedules. Attorney-fee ranges are Settled Estate estimates produced by one consistent method, explained in the methodology below. They are not quotes for any specific estate.

A boundary first: Settled Estate is not a law firm and this report is not legal advice. Statutes change, several dollar thresholds adjust for inflation, and the cost of any estate depends on its facts. Use this as a map, then confirm the current rule for your state before you rely on it.

Key findings

• The median court filing fee across all 50 states is about $230. The lowest is New Mexico at $30; the highest is Rhode Island at $750, which scales its fee to estate value (shown here at a representative estate size).
• The filing fee is almost never the real cost. Across the board it is the smallest line item. Attorney fees, executor compensation, and the time an estate must stay open drive the total.
• Six states set attorney fees by statute as a percentage of the gross estate: California, Arkansas, Nevada, Iowa, Missouri, and Wyoming. In those states a large estate can generate a fee far above what hourly counsel would charge elsewhere.
• Executor pay splits the country in two. Among the 22 states we cover in full, 14 set it by a statutory percentage or cap you can calculate up front; the other 8 use a "reasonable compensation" standard with no fixed formula.
• Time is a cost. Most states keep an estate open for a creditor claim period of 3 to 4 months, but it reaches 6 months in Ohio, 8 in South Carolina, and 12 in Pennsylvania. An estate generally cannot close and distribute until that window runs.
• The small-estate shortcut is the biggest lever. Most states let estates below a threshold (from a few thousand dollars to more than $200,000) skip formal probate entirely.

Typical court filing fee to open probate, 2026. The fee alone ranges roughly 25x across states, yet it is still the smallest part of the total cost. Free to republish with attribution (embed code below).

All 50 states: probate cost table

Sort or search the table for any state. These are statewide figures; for the current, county-level filing fee, follow the link in each row to that state's fee calculator.

What actually drives the cost of probate

Put the pieces together and a realistic cost picture looks like this. The court filing fee is rarely the problem. The big variables are whether the estate can use a small-estate shortcut at all, what the executor and the attorney are paid, and how long the estate must stay open while costs accrue. Layer on real property, a bond, publication, and appraisals, or any dispute, and the gap between a clean small estate and a contested formal administration is enormous, even within one state.

Three practical takeaways:

• Check the small-estate threshold first. For estates that qualify, the simplified path is often the single biggest cost lever, though eligibility depends on the estate's assets and state law. See the small estate affidavit page for your state's rule.
• In a percentage-schedule state, you can estimate fees up front. In a "reasonable compensation" state, the fee is typically set by agreement or court approval, and courts generally expect documentation of the work performed.
• Budget for time, not just fees. A longer creditor period means a longer administration and more carrying costs.

What an executor can be paid

Executor compensation (called personal representative or administrator compensation in many states) is one of the largest costs in a formal probate, and states take two very different approaches. Among the 22 states Settled Estate covers in full, 14 set the pay by a statutory percentage schedule or a hard cap. The other 8 leave it to a "reasonable compensation" standard, where a written agreement or the court decides.

States with a statutory percentage or cap

States that use a "reasonable compensation" standard

The split is the headline. In a percentage-schedule state, a family can estimate the executor's fee up front: a $600,000 California estate carries an ordinary statutory commission of $15,000 under Probate Code 10800 (applied here to the full value for illustration; the actual base follows California's inventory rules). In a "reasonable compensation" state, the same estate has no published number, which can be a feature (a family member often waives the fee) or a friction point (the amount has to be justified to a court). To see the figure for a value you enter, use the executor compensation tool for your state.

How long probate takes, and why it cannot finish sooner

Cost and time are linked: the longer an estate stays open, the more it carries in fees and administration. Even a simple, uncontested estate usually cannot close right away, because most states require it to stay open for a creditor claim period. During that window creditors can present claims, and an executor who distributes too early can be personally exposed. This is the clearest reason probate takes months even when nothing is in dispute.

Most states cluster at 3 to 4 months, but the tail is long: Ohio runs 6 months, South Carolina 8, and Pennsylvania a full year before claims are generally barred. The start date varies too. Many states run the clock from the first published notice to creditors, and known creditors usually get separate direct notice with their own deadline. Arizona, Louisiana, and Virginia structure this differently and are not shown above.

The creditor period is only a floor. Outside estimates of total probate duration vary widely, commonly cited anywhere from around nine months to several years, because there is no central probate database and every estate differs. Contested wills, real property, tax filings, and missing heirs all add time. For the full sequence in one place, see the probate timeline for your state.

See your state's numbers

The figures above are the statewide picture and the governing rules. For the current filing fees and statutory figures in your state, including county-level detail, start here:

• Cost breakdowns: Florida, California, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania
• Fee calculators: Florida, California, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania
• National overview: Probate costs explained

How we compiled this

Coverage. This study reports court filing fees, small-estate thresholds, and estimated attorney fees for all 50 states. Executor compensation and creditor claim periods are shown for the 22 states where Settled Estate maintains a full verified dataset, the same data that powers our state fee calculators and guides.

Filing fees are taken from the fee schedules published by each state's court system or its highest-volume probate court. Where fees vary by county or estate size, we show a representative figure for a mid-size estate and note the range. We do not show the lowest possible fee as the "typical" fee. A few states scale the filing fee to estate value, so for those states the figure is the fee at a representative estate size and direct comparisons of those particular fees are approximate.

Small-estate thresholds come from the statutes that authorize a simplified affidavit or summary procedure. Where a state has more than one threshold (for example, separate rules for personal property versus real property), we show the primary threshold a family would encounter. Most cover personal property only and exclude real estate, and a surviving spouse often gets a higher limit.

Attorney fees are Settled Estate estimates, not quotes for any specific estate. For the 44 states that use a "reasonable fee" or hourly standard, the figure is our estimated range for a straightforward, uncontested estate, set by one consistent method across all of those states so they can be compared on the same basis. These are general estimates for comparison only. They are not the output of any single proprietary survey, and an actual fee depends on the estate, the county, and the attorney. For the six states that set fees by statute (California, Arkansas, Nevada, Iowa, Missouri, Wyoming), we apply the statutory formula to a $400,000 estate so those states are directly comparable to each other.

Executor compensation and creditor periods are tied to the governing statute in the tables above and maintained against primary sources. Several figures adjust on a schedule: California's small-estate threshold adjusts every three years (next on April 1, 2028), and Michigan's and New York's adjust annually. Filing fees and statutes can change at any time. Treat this as a current snapshot for 2026, not a permanent reference.

Last verified: June 29, 2026.

Cite or republish this study

Settled Estate, How Much Does Probate Cost by State (2026).

This data and the chart above are free to republish with attribution and a link back to this page. To embed the chart, copy this code:

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The full dataset is also available as a downloadable CSV, with the governing source URL for every filing fee and threshold.

If you reference the figures, please note that filing fees are drawn from official sources (value-based fees are shown at a representative estate size) and attorney-fee ranges are Settled Estate estimates.

About the author

By Evan Reid, founder of Settled Estate. Evan built and maintains Settled's 50-state probate cost database, drawing on state statutes, county court fee schedules, and Settled's own estimated attorney-fee ranges, to make the cost of settling an estate clearer for families. Learn more about Settled Estate. Settled Estate is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice; the figures here are general information, not a quote for any specific estate.

Frequently asked questions

How much does probate cost on average?

Court filing fees in most states fall in the low hundreds of dollars, and the median across all 50 states is about $230. The larger cost is usually attorney and executor fees, which range widely by state and estate size. Six states set attorney fees by statute as a percentage of the estate.

Which states are the most and least expensive for probate?

Among the 50 states in this study, New Mexico has the lowest typical court filing fee at $30 and Rhode Island the highest at $750 (Rhode Island scales its fee to estate value). The median is about $230. Six states set attorney fees by statute as a percentage of the gross estate: California, Arkansas, Nevada, Iowa, Missouri, and Wyoming, where a large estate can trigger a fee far above what hourly counsel would charge elsewhere.

How long does probate take?

Even a simple, uncontested estate usually cannot close right away, because most states keep it open for a creditor claim period. That window runs 3 to 4 months in many states but reaches 6 months in Ohio, 8 in South Carolina, and a full year in Pennsylvania. Outside estimates of total duration vary widely, commonly from around nine months to several years, depending on the estate and the state.

How much can an executor be paid?

It depends on the state. Among the 22 states Settled covers in full, 14 set executor or personal representative pay by a statutory percentage schedule or cap (for example California's tiered schedule under Probate Code 10800, or Texas at 5% of cash received and 5% paid out). The others use a "reasonable compensation" standard, where a court or written agreement sets the amount.

Is the court filing fee the main cost of probate?

No. The filing fee is usually the smallest line item, often a flat few hundred dollars. The bigger costs are attorney fees and executor compensation, plus publication, certified copies, appraisals, and bond when required, and the carrying costs of keeping an estate open through the creditor period.