Updated August 14, 2026. Quick answer: California fixes the petition filing fee at $435 by statute, and the periodic accounting is not annual — it is first at 1 year, then not less frequently than biennially. Everything on this page is quoted from the jurisdiction’s own statute or an official court schedule, and where California publishes no figure this page says so rather than printing an estimate. What drives the rest of the bill — lawyers, an investigation, a capacity evaluation — is on what guardianship costs.
What California fixes by statute
| Item | What the text says | Where it says it |
|---|---|---|
| Petition filing fee | $435 total to file a petition for appointment of a conservator: $355 base + $40 + $40 in two separate supplemental-fee statutes. | Cal. Gov. Code §70653(a); §70602.5(a); §70602.6(a) |
| Bond | Bond required before letters issue unless otherwise provided by statute. Amount (admitted surety) = value of estate personal property + probable annual gross income + probable annual gross public entitlements + a reasonable amount for cost of recovery on the bond including attorney’s fees. Personal sureties: double that sum. | Cal. Prob. Code §2320(a), (c)(1)-(4), (d) |
| Guardian ad litem and attorney fees | Court may appoint private legal counsel for a proposed conservatee (discretionary, not mandatory). The court fixes a reasonable sum for compensation and expenses, payable from the adult’s own estate. Separately, the conservator and the conservator’s attorney may petition for compensation the court finds ‘just and reasonable’. | Cal. Prob. Code §1470(a), (b), (c)(1); §2640(a), (c) |
| Periodic accounting or report | Accounting due at 1 year from appointment, then ‘not less frequently than biennially’ unless the court orders more often. Filing fee for the petition to settle the account: $355 base under Gov. Code §70658(a)(2). | Cal. Prob. Code §2620(a); Cal. Gov. Code §70658(a)(2) |
What the proceeding is called here. Conservatorship of the person and/or estate. In California ‘guardianship’ means a minor only (Prob. Code Div. 4). A table that labels the California adult row ‘guardianship’ is using the wrong proceeding.
The filing fee
$435 total to file a petition for appointment of a conservator: $355 base + $40 + $40 in two separate supplemental-fee statutes.
The fee imposed under this section is in addition to any other fees authorized by law, including… Section 70602.5
Read at statute source on 2026-08-11: Cal. Gov. Code §70653(a); §70602.5(a); §70602.6(a).
The bond
Bond required before letters issue unless otherwise provided by statute. Amount (admitted surety) = value of estate personal property + probable annual gross income + probable annual gross public entitlements + a reasonable amount for cost of recovery on the bond including attorney’s fees. Personal sureties: double that sum.
Except as otherwise provided by statute, every person appointed as guardian or conservator shall, before letters are issued, give a bond approved by the court.
(4) On or after January 1, 2008, a reasonable amount for the cost of recovery to collect on the bond, including attorney’s fees and costs.
Read at statute source on 2026-08-11: Cal. Prob. Code §2320(a), (c)(1)-(4), (d).
Who pays the premium is not answered. A surety bond carries a recurring premium and it is usually the largest ongoing cost of a guardianship of the estate. California states no express rule on who bears it in the chapter read for this page, and no figure for what one costs is published anywhere this project could verify. That is a gap in the law and in the published record, not a gap we have filled with a guess.
Guardian ad litem and attorney fees
Court may appoint private legal counsel for a proposed conservatee (discretionary, not mandatory). The court fixes a reasonable sum for compensation and expenses, payable from the adult’s own estate. Separately, the conservator and the conservator’s attorney may petition for compensation the court finds ‘just and reasonable’.
(a) The court may appoint private legal counsel for a ward, a proposed ward, a conservatee, or a proposed conservatee in any proceeding under this division if the court determines the person is not otherwise represented by legal counsel and that the appointment would be helpful to the resolution of the matter or is necessary to protect the person’s interests.
Read at statute source on 2026-08-11: Cal. Prob. Code §1470(a), (b), (c)(1); §2640(a), (c).
How often you have to account
Not annual: First at 1 year, then not less frequently than biennially. This is the correction most published guidance gets wrong, because it generalises one state’s cadence to all of them. Your own appointing court can order more often than the statutory minimum, and the document that governs you is your order.
Accounting due at 1 year from appointment, then ‘not less frequently than biennially’ unless the court orders more often. Filing fee for the petition to settle the account: $355 base under Gov. Code §70658(a)(2).
Read at statute source on 2026-08-11: Cal. Prob. Code §2620(a); Cal. Gov. Code §70658(a)(2).
What an accounting has to contain, and the duties that come with it, are on the guardian accounting duties page.
What this page does not tell you
All four items this page set out to establish were read at primary and are stated above with their cites. What is missing everywhere, in every state, is a price: what an attorney charges to bring an uncontested petition, what a court-ordered capacity evaluation or investigation costs, and what a surety charges for the bond. None of it is published by any authority, and this page does not estimate it.
Where this fits
The filing fee is the smallest part of what a guardianship costs, and the national page sets out the costs that are larger and are not published anywhere. If nobody has been appointed yet, the comparison that actually matters is against the document that avoids this proceeding entirely — guardianship against a power of attorney.
Sources
| Item | Citation | Tier | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petition filing fee | Cal. Gov. Code §70653(a); §70602.5(a); §70602.6(a) | statute | 2026-08-11 |
| Bond | Cal. Prob. Code §2320(a), (c)(1)-(4), (d) | statute | 2026-08-11 |
| Guardian ad litem and attorney fees | Cal. Prob. Code §1470(a), (b), (c)(1); §2640(a), (c) | statute | 2026-08-11 |
| Periodic accounting or report | Cal. Prob. Code §2620(a); Cal. Gov. Code §70658(a)(2) | statute | 2026-08-11 |
General consumer information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Guardianship and conservatorship are governed by STATE law and differ materially between states; every figure here is quoted from the cited source as read on the date shown and changes without notice. Read as of August 14, 2026.