Probating an estate involves various costs including court filing fees, publication fees, attorneys' fees and executors' (eggs-ECK-you-ter) or administrator fees. The court filing fees are set by the court and must be paid in order to file the initial probate petition, as well as certain other petitions during the probate. Publication fees must be paid in order to publish the required notices of the probate proceeding in the newspaper. The executor or administrator, after being appointed by the court, is entitled fees for his or her time and effort. The attorney is also entitled to fees for time spent. The fees for attorneys, executors, and administrators are established by state statute and are awarded by the court based on the value of the estate after careful review of the time and effort actually expended. Under some circumstances, 'extraordinary' fees will also be awarded by the court for probates which involve complications such as the sale of real property. The greater the value of the estate, and the more complicated the probate, the greater the fees. These costs of a probate action are in addition to any income or estate taxes which must be paid by the estate. For more information about probate costs, please contact an attorney.
