Florida Statute 733.6171
“Compensation of attorney for the personal representative”
What it means
The schedule most Florida probate quotes are built on. For ordinary services in a formal administration, the fee presumed reasonable is: $1,500 for estates of $40,000 or less; $2,250 up to $70,000; $3,000 up to $100,000; then 3% of the next $900,000; 2.5% above $1 million to $3 million; 2% above $3 million to $5 million; 1.5% above $5 million to $10 million; and 1% above $10 million — all measured on inventory value plus income earned during administration.
None of it is mandatory. Before charging the schedule, the attorney must disclose in writing that there is no mandatory statutory fee, that the fee need not be based on estate size, that it is negotiable, that the PR may hire any attorney, and that the PR is entitled to a summary of services. No disclosures — no payment without prior court approval.
The 2026 probate act left the numbers alone and changed the edges. Since July 1, 2026, fighting to enforce the personal representative's own authority counts as an extraordinary service, billable above the ordinary fee, and the services summary the PR is owed at the end must now cover extraordinary work too — as hours or as a detailed list.
- Flat bands: $1,500 (up to $40,000), $2,250 (up to $70,000), $3,000 (up to $100,000) — then percentages take over.
- Percentage tiers: 3% on the next $900,000; 2.5% above $1M–$3M; 2% above $3M–$5M; 1.5% above $5M–$10M; 1% above $10M.
- The base is compensable value: inventory value of the probate estate assets plus income earned during administration.
- The schedule is presumed reasonable, not mandatory — the attorney, the PR, and the people bearing the cost may agree to anything else.
- Required written disclosures before using the schedule: no mandatory fee, size-based pricing not required, the fee is negotiable, free choice of attorney, and a right to a services summary.
- No disclosures → no payment without prior court approval — and any interested person may petition the court to raise or lower the fee.
- Changed July 1, 2026 (CS/HB 1337, ch. 2026-57, s. 6): the schedule in subsection (3) is untouched, but defending the PR's authority is now a listed extraordinary service — new subsection (4)(l), "involvement in any proceeding to enforce the authority of a personal representative as conferred by this code" — so that work is billable on top of the ordinary fee.
- Same act: the PR is entitled to a summary of ordinary and extraordinary services at the conclusion of the representation, and it must be total hours or a detailed summary of the services performed, s. 733.6171(2)(b)5.
How it plays out
Run the schedule on a $500,000 estate: $3,000 plus 3% of $400,000 — $15,000 for ordinary work. That arithmetic is why we quote flat fees instead. The statute itself says the fee is negotiable and does not have to scale with the estate, and the disclosure rules exist because most clients never knew that. When another firm's engagement letter quotes 'the statutory fee,' the subsection (2) disclosure checklist is the first thing we ask to see.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 733.6171 does real work:
Questions people ask
