Superior Court FeesFees in Probate Proceedings
Section § 70650
If you're filing certain probate petitions in California, like the first time you ask to manage someone's estate (letters of administration or testamentary) or you object to a will, it costs $355. This fee also applies if you're filing objections or petitions related to a will, like trying to cancel its probate. If you’re doing both an administration petition and a special administration petition together, you pay for both. Fees stay the same even for additional filings by others if they are joining the same case. Collected fees are allocated according to another law.
Section § 70651
If you file objections or any other papers opposing a petition as described in a specific part of section 70650, you'll need to pay a filing fee of $355. But if those objections are filed alongside a particular type of petition from section 70650, you'll only pay that petition's fee.
The money collected from these fees is distributed as outlined in another section, specifically section 68085.3.
Section § 70652
If you're dealing with the internal affairs of a trust or filing a first account for a testamentary trust that the court oversees, there's a filing fee of $355 applied to both the initial petition and any opposition papers. However, the court can waive or refund this fee in cases of hardship or for other significant reasons.
Note that this fee doesn't apply to trusts created by court orders under certain sections of the Probate Code. Also, the collected fees are distributed according to specific guidelines outlined elsewhere.
Section § 70653
This law outlines the filing fees related to petitions for appointing guardians or conservators. It sets a fee of $355 for filing such petitions, as well as for filing objections or opposition documents. However, if someone files both a competing petition and objections to another petition, they only pay the fee for the competing petition, not both. If temporary and full petitions are filed together, separate fees apply for each. Additionally, no fees are charged for objections filed by the proposed conservatee, or a minor or parent involved in a guardianship case. Finally, it specifies how collected fees are distributed.
Section § 70654
This law outlines the fees associated with filing petitions related to guardianship. If you file for appointing a guardian for a person's care, expect to pay $205. The same fee applies if you oppose such a petition unless you are a minor or the minor's parent, who are exempt from fees. If you're filing a competing petition while opposing another, you're only charged for filing the competing petition. Temporary guardian petitions filed with other petitions incur separate fees. All collected fees must be distributed according to specific guidelines, and no extra fees can be added beyond the standard ones mentioned here.
Section § 70655
This law outlines the filing fees for certain legal actions related to probate proceedings in California. It sets a uniform fee of $355 for both initiating a petition and for filing objections or other papers in opposition to such a petition. The fee applies to a range of specific probate-related proceedings, including those related to minors' claims, inheritance of real property, spousal or domestic partnership rights, establishing death for property reasons, handling transactions for disabled adults, dealing with advance health care directives or powers of attorney, and settling claims against deceased individuals' estates.
The collected fees are distributed as directed by another specified section. This ensures consistency in costs associated with these types of legal processes.
Section § 70656
This law sets the filing fee at $205 for petitions related to setting aside a small value estate of a deceased person when no ongoing estate proceedings exist. It also sets the same fee for any objections or papers filed in opposition to such petitions. If these petitions or objections are filed together with a petition to appoint a personal representative, only one filing fee is charged, as stated in a different section. The fees collected are distributed according to another specific regulation, and no additional fees are charged, except for the instances mentioned.
Section § 70657
This law section outlines the fees related to filing motions or other papers that require a hearing under the Probate Code, following the initial paperwork. Generally, there's a $60 fee for certain filings, like those listed in Section 70617, applications for urgent relief, and filings after temporary conservatorship or guardianship letters are issued.
There are exceptions where no fee applies, such as papers listed in another part of Section 70617 or when opposing a petition after guardianship letters are issued as described in Section 70654. If you're dealing with a summary judgment in probate cases, a different fee from Section 70617(d) applies. Each motion's fee is independent, even if heard together, with rules available to ensure consistent application.
Section § 70657.5
This law sets a standard fee of $200 for filing certain petitions or objections related to trusts and estates. Specifically, the fee applies to trust-related matters not covered by other sections and to certain petitions filed after specific types of estate letters have been issued. The fee also covers initial or subsequent petitions for special letters of administration without general representative powers. Of the $200 fee, $160 goes to the State Court Facilities Construction Fund. However, no fee is charged for disclaiming an interest in a deceased person's estate.
Section § 70658
If you're dealing with the estate of someone who's passed away or need to manage a guardianship or conservatorship, you'll generally need to pay a $355 fee when filing various petitions or objections in court. This includes actions like selling property, settling accounts, or managing other financial and legal responsibilities of the deceased or ward's estate. However, there are exceptions where this fee does not apply, such as in certain guardianship proceedings and when disclaiming an interest in an estate.
Part of this fee, specifically $205, is allocated for state court facility funding. Importantly, this fee is standardized, and no additional charges should be applied for the covered filings.
Section § 70658.5
This law explains how filing fees work when you file combined petitions or applications in court. If you combine requests that could have been separate, you only pay one filing fee. But if those combined requests would have had different fees, you'll pay the higher fee of the ones that apply.
Section § 70659
This law specifies that when a public administrator, guardian, or conservator, or an employee from the State Department of State Hospitals or Developmental Services, files a petition in an official capacity in certain types of proceedings, the required fee can only be paid using the assets from the estate that they manage or control.
Section § 70660
This law states that when a document is transferred to the clerk of the superior court, there's usually a $20 fee for receiving and storing it. However, the court can reduce or waive this fee if they have taken control over an attorney's law practice or if someone shows that paying the fee would cause them hardship.
Section § 70661
If you need to search for a document that has been moved to the superior court clerk, the fee will be the same as the fee charged for searching other court records or files.
Section § 70662
If you want to file a request for special notice in certain probate proceedings, you'll need to pay a $40 fee. This fee is separate from any other fees you might have to pay for filing related documents at the same time.
Section § 70663
If you want to register a conservatorship, you'll need to pay a $30 fee. This money is then sent to the Trial Court Trust Fund, which supports court operations.