Probate Fees by State: Executor Pay, Attorney Fees and What a Missing Heir Adds

Checked against each state’s own statute or court rule on September 23, 2026. Court filing fees vary by county and are not listed.

Notes to the table

1. Alabama: reasonable compensation judged on listed factors, not to exceed 2.5% of the value of all property received and under the personal representative’s control plus 2.5% of all disbursements; extra reasonable compensation for extraordinary services; a written compensation agreement with the decedent or all affected beneficiaries is binding if not unconscionable (§ 43-2-848). The court may fix an attorney’s fee at each settlement (§ 43-2-682). No attorney percentage.
2. Arkansas: the official text could not be read (the state’s public-access code sits behind a CAPTCHA), so no figures are printed here. Unofficial copies of the code, which we could not check against the official text, describe court-set “just and reasonable” compensation with a statutory percentage cap on personal property (§ 28-48-108(a)), and a statutory attorney fee schedule unless otherwise agreed, which the court may adjust (§ 28-48-108(d)). Read the section itself for the percentages.
3. California: 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9,000,000, 0.5% of the next $15,000,000, and above $25,000,000 a reasonable amount set by the court. The attorney’s schedule is identical, so both are payable. The base is the estate value without reference to encumbrances. Extraordinary services are extra (§ 10801).
4. Colorado: “A fiduciary and his or her lawyer are entitled to reasonable compensation” (§ 15-10-602(1)); excessive compensation must be refunded, and a petition for appointment must disclose the fee basis. Reasonableness factors and a fee-dispute process follow in §§ 15-10-603 and 15-10-604. The older sections 15-12-719 and 15-12-721 were repealed in 2011; a source citing them is out of date.
5. Connecticut: the Probate Court determines whether fiduciary and attorney fees are reasonable “whether or not an interested party raises an objection” (Rule 39.1), on nine listed factors for each (Rule 39.2).
6. Delaware: the statute hands commissions and attorneys’ fees to Court of Chancery rule. Rule 192 allows both “in a reasonable amount”, lists factors, and presumes the amount reasonable unless a beneficiary files an exception, though the court may still reduce it.
7. Florida: personal representative 3% of the first $1,000,000, 2.5% above $1,000,000 to $5,000,000, 2% above $5,000,000 to $10,000,000, 1.5% above $10,000,000, presumed reasonable; extraordinary services extra. Attorney: $1,500 for estates up to $40,000; $750 more above $40,000 to $70,000; $750 more above $70,000 to $100,000; 3% of the next $900,000; 2.5% from $1,000,000 to $3,000,000; 2% from $3,000,000 to $5,000,000; 1.5% from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000; 1% above $10,000,000. The attorney’s schedule is a presumption, not a mandate, and the attorney must disclose in writing that there is no mandatory statutory attorney fee. Amended by ch. 2026-57 (eff. July 1, 2026) to add an extraordinary-service category; fee schedule unchanged.
8. Georgia: the figures come from the notice printed on the official Georgia Probate Court Standard Forms (GPCSF 3 and 32), which paraphrase the statute: “normal commissions” of 2.5% of all sums of money received and a like commission on all sums paid out, and on petition up to 3% of the value of property distributed in kind, with special rules for interest and extra compensation. We could not confirm an attorney fee rule from an official source and print none.
9. Iowa: reasonable fees not exceeding 6% of the first $1,000, 4% from $1,000 to $5,000, and 2% over $5,000 of the gross inventory assets (life insurance excluded unless payable to the estate), as full compensation for ordinary services. The attorney’s fee is capped at the same schedule (§ 633.198). Extraordinary allowances under § 633.199.
10. Kansas: under § 59-1504, a will’s compensation provision is the executor’s full compensation unless renounced in writing.
11. Louisiana: an executor receives the amount the testament provides; an administrator, the amount agreed with the surviving spouse and competent heirs or legatees; absent either, 2.5% of the inventory, which the court may increase if inadequate. A representative who is also the succession’s attorney cannot be paid in both roles unless the testament says otherwise (art. 3351.1).
12. Maryland: unless the will provides a larger measure, commissions may not exceed 9% of property subject to administration up to $20,000, or $1,800 plus 3.6% of the excess over $20,000. The court caps personal representative commissions and counsel fees together at a fair and reasonable total cost of administration (§ 7-602).
13. Minnesota: the personal representative’s factors are time and labor, complexity and novelty, and the responsibilities assumed and results obtained (§ 524.3-719). For the attorney, § 525.515 gives effect to a testator’s written fee agreement; otherwise the court weighs time and labor, the attorney’s experience and knowledge, complexity and novelty, responsibilities and results, and the sufficiency of assets, and “the value of the estate shall not be the controlling factor.”
14. Mississippi: the court allows “such sum as the court deems proper considering the value and worth of the estate” and the difficulty of the duties, plus a reasonable attorney’s fee from the estate. There has been no statutory percentage range since a 1989 amendment, and fiduciary and attorney fees may not be based on the value of real property (UCCR 6.12(B)). The statute’s wording is taken from official Mississippi appellate opinions quoting it.
15. Missouri: where the will provides no compensation or it is renounced, the minimum is 5% of the first $5,000, 4% of the next $20,000, 3% of the next $75,000, 2.75% of the next $300,000, 2.5% of the next $600,000 and 2% over $1,000,000, on personal property administered plus proceeds of real property sold under court order. The court may allow more to make compensation reasonable. The estate’s attorney gets the same schedule as a minimum. Unusually, this schedule is a floor, not a ceiling.
16. Montana: the former percentage cap on personal representative fees was removed in 2019 (Ch. 313, L. 2019). Sources quoting a Montana percentage are describing the old law.
17. Nevada: personal representative 4% of the first $15,000, 3% of the next $85,000 and 2% above $100,000, on the estate accounted for less liens and encumbrances; the court may allow more if that is insufficient. An attorney is entitled to reasonable compensation, which may be hourly or, by written agreement signed by the personal representative and approved by the court, value-based at 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9,000,000, 0.5% of the next $15,000,000, and a reasonable amount above $25,000,000.
18. New Hampshire: we found no statute fixing the fee. Rule 88 makes fiduciary and attorney fees subject to court approval and requires them to be “reasonable for the work, responsibility, and risk”, weighing time and labor, size of the estate, skill required, the customary fee, any fee agreement, results, time limits and the length of the professional relationship.
19. New Jersey: corpus commissions of 5% of the first $200,000, 3.5% of the excess up to $1,000,000 and 2% over $1,000,000, plus 1% of all corpus for each additional fiduciary; income commissions of 6%. A court may reduce corpus commissions only on a beneficiary’s showing, and may add more for extraordinary services. An attorney serving as fiduciary who performs legal services is allowed “a just counsel fee” in addition to commissions (3B:18-6).
20. New York: commissions on sums received and paid out of 5% of the first $100,000, 4% of the next $200,000, 3% of the next $700,000, 2.5% of the next $4,000,000 and 2% above $5,000,000. The attorney’s compensation is fixed by the court (SCPA 2110).
21. North Carolina: commissions fixed in the discretion of the clerk of superior court, not to exceed 5% of receipts and expenditures; the cap does not apply where the will sets the compensation (§ 28A-23-3(g)).
22. Ohio: 4% of the first $100,000, 3% above $100,000 to $400,000 and 2% above $400,000, on personal property (including income) and proceeds of real property sold; plus 1% on unsold real property and 1% on certain non-probate property, but not joint and survivorship property. Reasonable attorney fees are allowed as an administration expense (§ 2113.36).
23. Oklahoma: 5% of the first $1,000, 4% of the next $5,000 and 2.5% above $6,000 of the estate accounted for; any extraordinary-service allowance may not exceed the commissions; co-representatives share one fee.
24. Oregon: 7% of the first $1,000, 4% from $1,000 to $10,000, 3% from $10,000 to $50,000 and 2% above $50,000 of property subject to the court’s jurisdiction, plus 1% of non-probate property (excluding life insurance) reportable for Oregon or federal estate tax; more for extraordinary services; the court may approve a different method. For attorney fees “no single factor is controlling” (§ 116.183).
25. South Carolina: not to exceed 5% of the appraised value of the probate estate’s personal property plus proceeds of authorized real-property sales (minimum $50), plus up to 5% of estate income; more only with court approval for extraordinary services; the section does not apply where a contract or the will directs otherwise.
26. South Dakota: where the will is silent, or in intestacy, the personal representative may be allowed 5% of the first $1,000, 4% from $1,000 to $5,000 and 2.5% above $5,000 of personal property accounted for; real property earns just and reasonable compensation fixed by the court.
27. Tennessee: no statutory percentage; the personal representative is credited with “reasonable compensation for services” on settlement of accounts (§ 30-2-606), and reasonable compensation of the personal representative and the personal representative’s counsel is a first-priority cost of administration (§ 30-2-317(a)(1)). Amounts are set by the probate court. We could not read the official code text and checked a secondary copy, so no figure is given.
28. Texas: a 5% commission on amounts actually received or paid out in cash, not to exceed 5% of the gross fair market value of the estate subject to administration; no commission on funds on hand or held in a financial institution or brokerage account at death, life insurance proceeds, or cash paid to an heir or legatee as such. Reasonable compensation instead where the representative runs a business or 5% is unreasonably low (§ 352.003).
29. Utah: if nobody objects, the reasonable compensation is the amount sought in the petition; on objection the court sets it. Utah numbers the section 75-3-718, not 3-719.
30. West Virginia: 5% of the first $100,000, 4% above $100,000 to $400,000, 3% above $400,000 to $800,000 and 2% above $800,000, on administered personal estate and proceeds of real estate sold; plus 1% on unsold real estate and on non-administered property includable for federal estate tax; none on joint and survivorship property. The county commission may reduce, deny or increase it, and a testator may set something different by will.
31. Wisconsin: subject to court approval, 2% of the inventory value less mortgages and liens plus net principal gains, or a rate agreed in writing with the decedent or with the recipients of a majority interest. For attorney fees, “the value of the estate may not be the controlling factor” (§ 851.40).
32. Wyoming: 10% of the first $1,000, 5% from $1,000 to $5,000, 3% from $5,000 to $20,000 and 2% above $20,000 of the probate estate accounted for, for the personal representative and, as a default, for the estate’s attorney, plus extraordinary fees. The attorney may waive, and the personal representative and attorney may negotia