Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: Oregon runs two different systems side by side. ORS 116.173 gives the personal representative a tiered percentage commission, while ORS 116.183 tests the attorney’s fee against a multi-factor reasonableness standard, not a percentage.
ORS 116.173 sets the executor’s percentage; ORS 116.183 sets the lawyer’s test
Oregon is unusually explicit about separating the two roles. The personal representative’s own compensation is a commission on the whole estate under ORS 116.173, tiered from 7% down to 2% as the estate grows. The attorney representing the personal representative is governed by an entirely separate section, ORS 116.183, which sets no percentage at all and instead lists specific reasonableness factors the court must weigh.
How an Oregon court actually tests an attorney fee request
Under ORS 116.183 the court considers the customary fees charged in the community for similar work, the time counsel actually spent, counsel’s experience and skill, the result obtained for the estate, any fee agreement between the personal representative and the attorney, and the amount of responsibility the attorney assumed relative to the estate’s total value. If the court is inclined to award less than requested, it must first give the attorney a chance to submit more supporting material before cutting the fee.
Oregon allows attorneys to get paid before the estate closes
ORS 116.183 expressly permits a partial award of attorney fees before the final account is settled, on a showing that the final account cannot reasonably be filed yet. In a long or contested administration, the estate’s attorney does not have to wait until closing to be paid, unlike states where fee approval happens only at final settlement.
The rest of the arithmetic: Oregon probate cost.
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 Oregon probate filing fee.