Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: Michigan has no statutory percentage fee schedule for either the probate attorney or the personal representative. Both are entitled only to reasonable compensation under the Estates and Protected Individuals Code, a standard the court applies case by case rather than a formula tied to estate value.
One reasonable-compensation standard, not a table
A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for services performed. A personal representative may pay the personal representative’s own compensation periodically as earned without prior court approval.
Source: MCL 700.3719(1)
This is the operative fee statute for estate administration in Michigan, and it sets no percentages or dollar brackets. The personal representative can pay themselves as work is done, subject to later review if an interested person objects.
The attorney’s fee is governed by the same standard
Employ an attorney to perform necessary legal services or to advise or assist the personal representative in the performance of the personal representative’s administrative duties, even if the attorney is associated with the personal representative, and act without independent investigation upon the attorney’s recommendation. An attorney employed under this subdivision shall receive reasonable compensation for his or her employment.
Source: MCL 700.3715(1)(w)
The statute letting the personal representative hire a lawyer uses the same reasonable-compensation language as the personal representative’s own fee statute, with no schedule, so both charges are set on the facts of the estate rather than by formula.
A paper-trail requirement when one person wears both hats
If an attorney serves as personal representative, the attorney shall maintain time records that state the identity of the person performing personal representative services, the date the services are performed, the amount of time expended in performing the services, and a brief description of the services.
Source: MCL 700.3719(2)
When the lawyer is also the personal representative, Michigan law forces contemporaneous time records that any interested person can demand to see, a transparency mechanic that serves a purpose similar to Florida’s forced negotiability notice, though structured differently.
The executor’s commission is a different charge
Michigan does not split the personal representative’s commission from the attorney’s fee by statute the way New Jersey does; both are reasonable compensation under the same code, with no distinct percentage schedule for either role.
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 Michigan probate filing fee.