Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: Colorado sets no percentage or schedule for executors specifically anymore. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-10-602 (current); former § 15-12-719 repealed 2011 reflects the current governing provision, which entitles a fiduciary and his or her lawyer to reasonable compensation for services rendered on behalf of an estate. The former personal-representative-specific section, § 15-12-719, was repealed effective August 10, 2011, by the same bill that created this unified standard, which now covers personal representatives alongside guardians, conservators, trustees, and agents under a power of attorney. The court retains inherent authority to determine reasonableness whenever appropriate.
The statute, and what it does not do
The provision that once specifically addressed personal representative compensation, former Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-719, was repealed effective August 10, 2011 by Senate Bill 11-083. What governs now is Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-10-602, which entitles a fiduciary and his or her lawyer to reasonable compensation for services rendered on behalf of an estate. Like Arizona and Alaska, it sets no percentage and no schedule.
Who actually decides, and why the statute covers more than executors
The same 2011 bill that repealed § 15-12-719 simultaneously created a new Part 6 of Article 10, Compensation and Cost Recovery, spanning Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 15-10-601 through 15-10-602 and beyond, which now governs reasonable compensation for all fiduciaries together, not personal representatives alone, but also guardians, conservators, trustees, and agents under a power of attorney. A court retains inherent authority, discretion, and responsibility to determine the reasonableness of compensation and costs when appropriate, regardless of a person’s underlying entitlement to compensation. Compensation and costs can be paid directly without a prior court order, unless the fiduciary is under notice of removal proceedings, and a court can order refunds of excessive compensation.
What that means in practice
A Colorado personal representative should cite the current cross-fiduciary standard, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-10-602, rather than the repealed executor-specific section, since § 15-12-719 no longer has legal effect. Because the same reasonable-compensation rule now applies across fiduciary roles, court decisions involving guardians, conservators, or trustees can be relevant precedent for what counts as reasonable compensation for a personal representative as well.
What the whole process costs in this state: Colorado 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 Colorado requires the executor to post a bond.