Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: Florida is one of the few states with a genuine attorney fee schedule written into statute — and the same statute orders the attorney to tell you, in writing, that it is not mandatory and that the fee is negotiable. Most people never get told the second half.
The schedule, from the statute
Compensation for ordinary services in a formal Florida estate administration is presumed reasonable if it follows this schedule, applied to the compensable value of the estate — the inventory value of the probate assets plus income earned during administration (Fla. Stat. §733.6171(3)):
- $1,500 for estates valued at $40,000 or less
- an additional $750 for $40,000–$70,000
- an additional $750 for $70,000–$100,000
- 3% of the next $900,000 (so $100,000 up to $1 million)
- 2.5% above $1 million to $3 million
- 2% above $3 million to $5 million
- 1.5% above $5 million to $10 million
- 1% above $10 million
The disclosure the statute forces, and what it is worth to you
This is the part that matters more than the percentages. Where the attorney intends to be paid under the schedule, §733.6171 requires written disclosure to the personal representative that, in the statute’s own words, “There is not a mandatory statutory attorney fee for estate administration,” that the fee “is not required to be based on the size of the estate,” that it “is subject to negotiation,” and that the personal representative is not required to select the attorney who prepared the will. If those disclosures are not made and acknowledged, the attorney cannot be paid without court approval or the written consent of every interested party.
Why the percentage is the wrong starting point
The schedule is keyed to estate value, not to work done. A $900,000 estate consisting of one house and one brokerage account is not thirty times the work of a $30,000 estate, but the schedule prices it that way. That is precisely why the statute makes the fee negotiable and says so out loud. Extraordinary services — a will contest, an elective-share proceeding, a contested claim — are billed on top under §733.6171(4).
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.