Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: there is no national probate attorney fee, and in most states there is no schedule at all — the fee is whatever is “reasonable,” tested by a court only if somebody objects. Just two states we have read set a percentage schedule for the attorney specifically: Florida, where it is presumptive, and Nevada, where the attorney elects it. Almost every percentage you will find quoted elsewhere is the executor’s commission wearing the wrong label.
The distinction that decides everything
Two separate charges come out of the same estate. The personal representative’s commission pays the person administering the estate, and many states do fix it by statute as a percentage. The attorney’s fee pays the lawyer advising them, and that is usually governed only by a reasonableness standard. Sources that publish “probate costs 5% in Texas” or “4% in Ohio” are quoting the first and implying the second.
The three models, and what each means for the bill
- A presumptive attorney schedule (Florida). Following it is presumed reasonable, and the statute simultaneously requires the attorney to disclose in writing that it is not mandatory and is negotiable.
- An elective attorney schedule (Nevada). The attorney may be paid on estate value, hourly, by agreement, or by a court-preapproved method — chosen at the start of the case.
- Reasonable fee (most states). No percentage. Hourly or flat fee set in the engagement letter, sometimes measured against a local court guideline, as in Ohio’s county probate rules or Pennsylvania’s Johnson custom.
What actually moves the number
Not estate size, in most states — complexity. A contested claim, a will contest, an elective-share election, real property in a second state, a business interest, or an estate tax return each add work that a percentage schedule never anticipated. Conversely, an estate that qualifies for a small-estate affidavit or a summary procedure may need very little attorney time at all, which is why the first question is whether probate is required in the first place.
Four questions worth asking before you engage anyone
- Is your fee hourly, flat, or a percentage — and if a percentage, of what, exactly?
- Is that percentage set by statute in this state, by a local court rule, or by custom?
- What counts as an extraordinary service that bills on top?
- Does this estate qualify for a simplified or summary procedure?
State detail where a real schedule exists: Florida and Nevada. Where the quoted percentage is the executor’s: Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania. Every state’s fee model: probate cost by state.
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.
Or no attorney at all. The court costs are unavoidable either way; the attorney’s fee is the part a pro-se administration saves, and it normally comes out of the estate rather than your pocket — when doing it yourself is realistic.