Probate is a legal proceeding that is used to wind up a person’s legal and financial affairs after death. In California probate proceedings are conducted in the Superior Court for the county where the decedent lived, and can take at least 8 months and sometimes as long as several years. The California Probate Code sets the maximum attorneys fees for a probate: 4% of the first $100,000 of the estate, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, and 1% on amounts over 1 million. It is noteworthy that the fees to the attorney are calculated on the gross fair market value of the property going through probate. Also note that the executor is entitled to the same amount of fees.