It’s usually the second question a family asks, right after “how long will this take.” Here’s the honest answer, including the part about the statutory fee schedule most websites bury.
The statutory attorney-fee schedule
Florida Statute §733.6171 sets a schedule of attorney’s fees that are “presumed reasonable” for ordinary services in a formal administration, based on the value of the probate estate plus income earned during administration:
- $1,500 for estates of $40,000 or less
- $2,250 for estates between $40,000 and $70,000
- $3,000 for estates between $70,000 and $100,000
- 3% of the next $900,000 (so a $500,000 estate is $3,000 + $12,000 = $15,000)
- 2.5% from $1 million to $3 million
- 2% from $3 million to $5 million
- 1.5% from $5 million to $10 million
- 1% above $10 million
Three important footnotes. First, this is a presumption, not a price tag — you can agree to a different fee with your attorney, and for many estates a flat or hourly arrangement is fairer than the percentage. Ask. We quote our fee up front once we’ve seen what the estate looks like. Second, the percentage runs on the probate estate — assets passing outside probate (joint accounts, beneficiary designations, trust assets, and usually the homestead) aren’t in the base. Third, “ordinary services” means ordinary: will contests, elective-share disputes, sales of real estate, tax audits, and other extraordinary services are compensated separately.
The costs beyond attorney’s fees
- Filing fees — a few hundred dollars, set by the clerk of court.
- Publication — the notice to creditors runs in a local paper.
- Bond — sometimes required, especially for out-of-state personal representatives in Broward.
- Certified copies, recording fees, appraisals where needed.
- Personal representative’s fee — the PR is entitled to compensation too (family members often waive it, but they don’t have to).
Who actually pays
The estate. Fees and costs are paid from estate assets before beneficiaries receive distributions — you don’t write a personal check to probate your parent’s estate. What probate costs, functionally, is a reduction in what the beneficiaries ultimately receive.
How to spend less on probate
Mostly, you spend less by planning before death: a funded revocable trust, correct beneficiary designations, and clean titling shrink the probate estate — sometimes to zero. After death, the choices narrow, but choosing the right form of administration still matters: summary administration costs a fraction of formal when it genuinely fits.
The full picture — timelines, the personal representative’s duties, common problems — is on our Florida probate page. For a fee quote on a specific estate, call (954) 839-8705.