Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: K.S.A. 59-1717 entitles a fiduciary to compensation for services, and for those of his or her attorneys, that is just and reasonable, with no statutory factors defining the term. The more distinctive rule sits in a companion statute, K.S.A. 59-1504: a will’s compensation provision controls as the executor’s full compensation unless the executor files a written instrument renouncing all claim to it, after which the just-and-reasonable standard applies instead. The fiduciary can also apply mid-administration for an interim allowance rather than waiting for final settlement.
The statute, and what it does not define
K.S.A. 59-1717 provides that every fiduciary shall be allowed his or her necessary expenses incurred in the execution of his or her trust, and shall have such compensation for services and those of his or her attorneys as shall be just and reasonable. The section lists no statutory factors, just and reasonable is undefined in the text and left to the district court’s discretion.
Who actually decides, and the will-controls-unless-renounced rule
The district court, sitting in probate, allows the compensation, and K.S.A. 59-1717 lets the fiduciary apply mid-administration for an interim allowance on compensation and attorney’s fees rather than waiting for final settlement. What is distinctive in Kansas is K.S.A. 59-1504: a testator’s will provision for compensation is taken as the executor’s full compensation unless the executor files a written instrument renouncing all claim to it, only after that renunciation does the general just-and-reasonable standard of Section 59-1717 apply.
What that means in practice
Read the will’s compensation clause first, since under Section 59-1504 it controls as the executor’s full pay unless formally renounced in writing, renouncing it is what opens the door to the just-and-reasonable standard of Section 59-1717 instead. If cash flow is a concern during a long administration, remember Section 59-1717 also allows applying for an interim allowance rather than waiting until final settlement.
What the whole process costs in this state: Kansas probate cost. Every state’s fee model side by side: probate cost by state.
Work out the number: the executor fee calculator. How the standard is applied where no schedule exists: reasonable-compensation states. Whether to take the fee at all: when the executor is also an heir, and how the fee is taxed.
Statutory text read at each state’s own legislature or official code publisher. General information, not legal advice; a court retains the final say on what compensation is allowed.
Related: whether Kansas requires the executor to post a bond.