Example 1
Given:$1,500,000 estate, statutory schedule
Rezultat:~$57,500 total
Based on standard statutory tiered rates
For a $1.5M estate under a standard statutory fee structure (where attorney and executor each receive statutory fees: 4% of first $100k [$4k], 3% of next $100k [$3k], 2% of next $800k [$16k], 1% of remaining $500k [$5k], totaling $28,000 each), the combined legal and executor fees reach $56,000. Adding $1,500 in filing and appraisal costs brings the total to $57,500, illustrating how statutory fee schedules can heavily impact moderately sized estates.
Example 2
Given:$5,000,000 estate, high-value commercial portfolio
Rezultat:~$131,000 total
Evaluated on gross asset valuation
A $5M gross estate incurs statutory fees of $63,000 each for the executor and attorney under standard statutory schedules (4% of $100k, 3% of $100k, 2% of $800k, 1% of $4M = $4,000 + $3,000 + $16,000 + $40,000 = $63,000). With $5,000 in ancillary costs, the total probate cost is $131,000. This demonstrates why gross value calculations pose a severe liquidity risk for real estate portfolios with low equity-to-value ratios.
Example 3
Given:$500,000 estate, hourly billing jurisdiction
Rezultat:~$17,500 total
Estimated hourly legal and flat executor fees
In jurisdictions without statutory fee schedules, attorneys charge hourly (e.g., 30 hours at $400/hr = $12,000) and executors charge a flat or reasonable fee (e.g., $3,000). Combined with $2,500 in court and accounting fees, the total cost is $17,500, representing roughly 3.5% of the total estate value.
Example 4
Given:$250,000 estate, small business owner
Rezultat:~$10,200 total
Lower-bound estate threshold
For a $250k estate, statutory or hourly legal fees are modeled at $4,500, executor fees at $4,500, and court fees at $1,200. The total probate cost of $10,200 represents about 4.08% capital erosion, prompting the need for simplified probate procedures if the state threshold allows.