Executor Fees in Michigan: Statute, Amounts, and Timing

Executor fees in Michigan are set by a “reasonable compensation” standard rather than a fixed percentage. Under MCL 700.3719, the personal representative (Michigan’s term for an executor) is entitled to reasonable pay for the services actually performed, and the statute leaves the dollar amount to the facts of the estate. In practice, fees often land in the 2% to 4% range of the estate’s gross value, with the actual figure driven by complexity and hours worked.¹

What the Statute Actually Says

Section 3719 of Michigan’s Estates and Protected Individuals Code sets three rules that shape everything else. A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for services performed. The personal representative may pay that compensation to themselves periodically as it is earned, without asking a judge first. And when an attorney serves as personal representative, the attorney must keep detailed time records showing who did each task, when, how long it took, and what was done.¹

The self-pay authority often surprises beneficiaries. Unlike states that require a court order before any compensation is drawn, Michigan lets the executor take fees from estate funds as work is performed. The safeguard on the back end is that any interested person can later petition the probate court to review whether the fees were reasonable, so the executor’s real protection is documentation, not permission.

How Courts Decide What Is Reasonable

Because the statute never defines “reasonable,” Michigan courts fill in the meaning using a multi-factor test refined through case law. In In re Weaver Estate, the Court of Appeals held that reasonable value is judged by “the time spent, the amount involved, the character of the services rendered, the skill and experience called for in the performance of the work, and the results obtained.” The court also made clear that the fiduciary’s own opinion about what the services are worth does not bind the judge; the court evaluates the work independently from the evidence.²

Those factors tend to sort into three groups:

The executor’s background and qualifications. Someone with legal, accounting, or business expertise who handles work that would otherwise be farmed out to a professional can justify more than a lay executor doing routine tasks.
The nature of the tasks. Difficulty, skill required, hours logged, and the total value of assets under management. Estates with operating businesses, out-of-state real estate, contested claims, or complicated tax issues carry more weight than an estate of bank accounts and one house.
Results achieved. Whether the executor preserved or increased estate value, resolved disputes efficiently, and moved the estate to distribution without avoidable delay.

Typical Fee Range

Michigan does not publish a fee schedule, and the statute does not provide percentages, so executors and beneficiaries rely on informal benchmarks. Fees of roughly 2% to 4% of the estate’s gross value are common for typical estates. A straightforward estate of financial accounts, a home, and no contested claims often lands at or below the low end. Estates with business interests, real property in multiple states, litigation, or complex tax planning push higher.

A useful sanity check is to look at the fee two ways at once: as a percentage of the estate, and as an implied hourly rate against the executor’s documented hours. A fee that works out to $500 an hour for routine paperwork is hard to defend regardless of the estate’s size.

When the Will Sets the Fee

If the will specifies compensation, that provision generally controls. But the personal representative can renounce the will’s compensation clause before formally qualifying for the role and then claim reasonable compensation instead.¹ That matters when an older will fixes a dollar figure that no longer matches the work required.

One boundary: a written contract between the decedent and the personal representative regarding compensation is binding and cannot be renounced.¹ If the executor signed a fee agreement with the decedent during the decedent’s lifetime, that agreement governs.

Getting Paid: Timing and Documentation

Because Section 3719 allows periodic self-payment as fees are earned, most executors do not wait for the estate to close. Monthly or quarterly draws are common when administration stretches over a year.¹ Executor compensation is treated as an administration expense of the estate, so it is paid ahead of general creditor claims and ahead of distributions to beneficiaries.

The statutory time-record requirement applies to attorney-executors, but a lay executor should keep the same kind of log. For every task, record the date, the time spent in fractional increments, a short description, and the category of work (asset management, creditor claims, tax preparation, beneficiary communication, and so on). Start the log on day one. Reconstructing hours later is difficult, and courts discount estimates that were not recorded contemporaneously. Emails, phone records, and professional invoices help corroborate the log if the fee is later challenged.

Expenses Are Not Part of the Fee

Out-of-pocket costs the executor pays while administering the estate are reimbursable expenses, separate from compensation. Court filing fees, postage, certified mail, mileage, appraisal fees, notary charges, and the cost of death certificates all come out of estate funds as administration expenses. Keeping receipts and a separate expense log prevents any confusion between reimbursed costs and personal pay.

Professional fees the executor authorizes, including attorney, accountant, and appraiser charges, are also estate expenses, and the court can review whether hiring the professional was appropriate and whether the professional’s own charges were reasonable.³ An executor who delegates most of the work to an attorney will have a harder time defending a large personal fee on top of the legal bills.

Taxes and Waiving the Fee

Executor compensation is taxable income to the executor.⁴ For a non-professional executor handling a single estate, fees are generally reported as other income on Schedule 1. Professional fiduciaries who administer estates as a business report the income on Schedule C, where it is also subject to self-employment tax.

The tax cost changes the calculus, especially when the executor is also a beneficiary. Michigan allows a personal representative to renounce all or part of the compensation in writing, filed with the court and served on all affected interested persons.¹ A child serving as executor of a parent’s estate who would receive a $15,000 fee taxable as ordinary income can often keep more by waiving the fee and taking a larger inheritance, which is generally not subject to income tax. The math shifts when the executor is not a beneficiary or when the estate owes federal estate tax, since executor fees are deductible on the estate return. A tax advisor can model both sides before you decide.

When Beneficiaries Challenge a Fee

Prior court approval is not required, but any interested person can petition the probate court to review fees already taken or proposed. On review, the executor carries the practical burden of showing the fees were reasonable, and the court applies the same Weaver factors: time, complexity, skill, results, and estate value.² An executor with a detailed time log and supporting records is in a strong position. An executor who took a large fee and can only offer a general narrative about having worked hard is not.

If the court finds the fees excessive, it can order the executor to return the difference to the estate. In cases involving bad faith, such as deliberately inflated fees or concealed withdrawals, the court can impose sanctions, remove the executor, and require restitution.

Co-Executors

When a will names two or more co-personal representatives, Michigan does not set a statutory formula for splitting fees. The reasonable-compensation standard still applies, so each co-executor’s share should track the work that individual actually performed. Two co-executors dividing responsibilities evenly might each take a proportional share of what a solo executor would earn. A co-executor who does most of the work while the other plays a minor role can justify a larger portion. Combined compensation still has to be reasonable relative to the estate’s size and complexity, so naming three co-executors does not triple the total fee.

Co-executors should agree on the split early and put it in writing. Disputes over fee allocation between co-fiduciaries can end up in probate court, adding cost and delay that no one benefits from.

1
Michigan Legislature. MCL Section 700.3719
2
CaseMine. In re Estate of Weaver
3
Michigan Legislature. MCL Section 700.3721
4
Internal Revenue Service. Are the Fees I Receive as an Executor or Administrator of an Estate Taxable