Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: New York does not set a statutory percentage schedule for the probate attorney’s fee. Under Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act section 2110, the attorney’s compensation is fixed by the Surrogate’s Court on what is just and reasonable for the legal services actually rendered, decided case by case rather than off a table.
No percentage table for the attorney
fix and determine the compensation of an attorney for services rendered
Source: N.Y. SCPA section 2110(1)
Rather than a percentage-brackets table, section 2110 lets the Surrogate’s Court set attorney compensation directly on petition, and if an attorney has already been paid more than the fair value the court later determines, the court can order a refund.
The executor’s commission is a separate, scheduled charge
For receiving and paying out all sums of money not exceeding $100,000 at the rate of 5 percent. For receiving and paying out any additional sums not exceeding $200,000 at the rate of 4 percent. For receiving and paying out any additional sums not exceeding $700,000 at the rate of 3 percent. For receiving and paying out any additional sums not exceeding $4,000,000 at the rate of 2 1/2 percent. For receiving and paying out all sums above $5,000,000 at the rate of 2 percent.
Source: N.Y. SCPA section 2307(1)
This percentage schedule governs the fiduciary’s own commission, not the attorney’s fee. The rates are computed separately for money received and money paid out, generally producing about half the listed rate on each side of the transaction, absent a will provision to the contrary.
Two different bills against the same estate
A New York estate accounting typically shows the SCPA 2307 executor commission on one line and a court-reviewed SCPA 2110 attorney fee on another. There is no statutory requirement that the attorney disclose that a fee is negotiable, because there is no default percentage fee for the attorney to negotiate away from.
The executor’s commission is a different charge
New York’s executor or administrator commission is fixed by a percentage schedule under SCPA section 2307, 5 percent on the first $100,000 down to 2 percent above $5,000,000, split between receiving and paying out, a wholly separate charge from the attorney’s fee, which SCPA section 2110 leaves to the court’s reasonable-compensation determination.
How the fee models compare across all 51 jurisdictions: probate cost by state, and the national picture on what a probate attorney costs.
Statutory text read at each state’s own legislature or official code publisher. General information, not legal advice; fee statutes change and a court retains the final say on what is reasonable.
The attorney fee above is separate from what the court itself charges just to open the case, see the New York probate filing fee.