Executor Fee in Oregon: A Second 1% Layer Reaches Non-Probate Assets

Updated September 3, 2026. Quick answer: Oregon entitles a personal representative to a commission under ORS 116.173(3)(a): 7% of the first $1,000, 4% of the next $9,000, 3% of the next $40,000, and 2% above $50,000 of the probate estate. On that schedule, $100,000 pays $2,630; $500,000 pays $10,630; $1,000,000 pays $20,630. A separate provision, (3)(b), adds another 1% on property that never enters probate but is still reportable for Oregon or federal estate tax (excluding life insurance), reaching beyond the assets the personal representative formally administers.

The real split is probate vs. non-probate, not real vs. personal property

ORS 116.173(3)(a) applies the same tiered schedule to real and personal property alike; there is no separate treatment by property type. The genuine split is between probate and non-probate assets: property “subject to the jurisdiction of the court” is commissioned on the full 7%/4%/3%/2% schedule, while property that avoids probate but is still reportable for Oregon or federal estate tax (certain joint-tenancy or trust assets, for instance) draws a separate flat 1% commission under (3)(b), with life insurance proceeds excluded from that layer entirely.

An entitlement that can grow, and one case where it is capped

The statute’s own verb is “entitled to receive” (3), and subsection (4) lets the court add further compensation that is “just and reasonable” for extraordinary and unusual services beyond the ordinary schedule, the opposite of a hard ceiling. The one place a real cap appears is (5)(b): if the estate’s assets are insufficient to pay expenses and claims in full, the personal representative’s compensation may not exceed what subsections (3) and (4) would otherwise produce.

What the whole process costs in this state: Oregon 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.