If you don’t have an estate plan in place or failed to completely fund your revocable trust, then your loved ones will be faced with the task of probating your estate. The overall probate cost of an estate depends on many factors such as, court fees, Personal Representative fees, Attorney’s fees, Accounting fees, appraisal fees, bond fees and various miscellaneous fees. The probate cost will vary based on the following:

  • Court fees can range anywhere from a few hundred to over a thousand dollars. These fees will include filing fees for petitions, inventory, annual accountings, and others based on the estate.
  • Personal Representatives fees can be statutory or included in the Last Will and Testament.
  • Attorney’s fees will vary depending on the rate charged by the attorney.
  • Accounting fees will vary depending upon the overall value of the estate and the type of assets owned. This fee may also include the expense of filing a state and/or federal tax return for the estate, if necessary.
  • Appraisal fees might be necessary to determine the values of real property, a business, or personal property such as jewelry, antiques, boats, cars, etc.
  • Bond fees will be required if the Last Will and Testament does not waive posting of a bond by your Personal Representative or the heirs do not consent to waiving bond. The amount of the bond is determined by the probate judge based on the size of the estate. The actual bond fee is determined by the surety providing bond.
  • Miscellaneous fees will include but are not limited to actions such as postage costs to mail notices, insuring and storing personal property, shipping costs of personal property, moving costs of personal property, etc.

All of these fees can add up quickly, but if you take the time to make sure your estate plan is in place, the majority of these fees can be avoided. You can reduce the probate costs and save your Personal Representative time by putting a plan in place. Call our firm today at 678-781-9230 and let us help you complete your estate plan.

Disclaimer

This Blog/Web Site is made available for educational purposes only. In addition, it is available to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide legal advice. By using this blog site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and Grissom Law, LLC.