Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: Illinois has no statutory percentage fee schedule for the probate attorney at all. Under 755 ILCS 5/27-2, the attorney for the estate’s representative is entitled only to reasonable compensation for his services, set by the probate court on the facts of each estate rather than off a percentage table.
A pure reasonable-compensation standard
The attorney for a representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for his services.
Source: 755 ILCS 5/27-2
There is no dollar-bracket or percentage schedule anywhere in this section. Courts weigh factors such as the attorney’s hourly rate, the complexity and time the estate required, and the estate’s value, and an attorney who withdraws must petition for fees within 30 days after the court approves that withdrawal.
The representative’s own fee uses the same standard
A representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for his services.
Source: 755 ILCS 5/27-1
Illinois does not split the executor and the attorney onto two different statutory models the way Florida or Nevada do. Both are paid reasonable compensation under sibling sections of the same article, decided by the same reasonableness test rather than two different schedules.
What courts actually look at
Because there is no statutory percentage to anchor the request, Illinois estate attorneys typically bill hourly and disclose that rate on petition, and the eventual fee award is treated as a first-class administrative-expense claim against the estate.
The executor’s commission is a different charge
The personal representative’s compensation is governed by the sibling section 755 ILCS 5/27-1, the same reasonable-compensation standard as the attorney’s fee under 5/27-2, rather than a separate percentage schedule.
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.
The attorney fee above is separate from what the court itself charges just to open the case, see the Illinois probate filing fee.