The costs of probating assets depend on the type and value of the assets. The general concept is that the higher the value of the assets, the more the probate costs will be. These costs consist of various fees which are listed and discussed below.
Probate costs include court fees, personal representation fees, and attorney’s fee. Court fees are based upon the laws of the state and can be as low as a few hundreds dollars or as high as a few thousand dollars. Personal representative fees are also based on the laws of the state. In some states, this fee is determined by a certain percentage of the value of the probate property. The attorney’s fee is also based on the laws of the state and is calculated in many cases just like the personal representative fees.
Probate cots also include accounting as well as appraisal and valuation fees. Accounting fees will vary based on the overall type and value of the assets while appraisal and valuation fees which are needed to determine the date values of the assets as well as interest may be a few hundred to several thousands of dollars.
Bonds fees are also a part of probate costs. Normally bond fees can be waived if there is a last will and testament but in cases where there is no will or testament, before a person representation can be appointed, a bond fee will have to be paid. The amount of the bond fee is normally determined by the judge. Apart from the above mentioned fees, there are also miscellaneous fees such as postage of notices and documents that the person representative, court or tax authorities need or the cost of insuring, shipping or moving the assets.
So after taking all of these fees into consideration, probate costs may add up to somewhere between 3% - 8% of the value of your assets. This however does not include other costs such as income or estate taxes that might also be due during the administration. Probate costs are more than the costs of setting a revocable living trust which range between one to five percent of the value of your assets.