How Much Does an Executor Get Paid in Arkansas?
Calculate how much an executor (personal representative) can charge for administering an estate. Fees vary by state law.
Frequently Asked Questions
Arkansas allows executors to receive "reasonable compensation" as determined by the court.Ark. Code § 28-48-108(a) (just and reasonable; not to exceed 10% first $1K + 5% next $4K + 3% balance of personal property passing through PR's hands)Verified Jul 14, 2026 Courts consider the size and complexity of the estate, the time spent, and the executor's skill and experience. On a $500,000 estate, the states that do set a statutory schedule pay 2.23% to 3.03% — a useful reference point where Arkansas gives none. Arkansas caps compensation at 3.03% of an estate this size, so the estimate is held to that ceiling.
Arkansas law says only that compensation must be reasonable — it names no percentage, so no exact figure exists to look up. The estimate is built from the 17 states whose legislatures DO set an executor fee schedule: each schedule is applied to an estate of the same size, and the midpoint of those results is shown ($14,050 on a $500,000 estate), with the middle half of them as the range. It is an estimate anchored in what other legislatures decided the same work is worth, not a figure from Arkansas law. The probate court has the final say.
Yes. Executors in Arkansas can waive their fee entirely or accept a reduced amount. Family members serving as executor often waive compensation, particularly when they are also beneficiaries of the estate. Waiving the fee reduces the overall cost of probate and increases the amount available for distribution to beneficiaries.
Arkansas statute does not address how co-executors share compensation. The court sets one reasonable amount for the estate and allocates it among the executors serving.Ark. Code § 28-48-108(a)Verified Jul 25, 2026
An executor in Arkansas is responsible for filing the will with the probate court, inventorying assets, notifying creditors, paying debts and taxes, and distributing remaining assets to beneficiaries.Ark. Code §§ 28-48-108(a) (executor compensation — just and reasonable, capped at 10% first $1K / 5% next $4K / 3% balance of personal property fully administered), 28-48-108(d)(2)-(3) (attorney fee schedule — 6-tier, 5% to 2%, on total market value reportable in circuit court; court adjusts if excessive or insufficient), 28-41-101 (small estate affidavit — $100K / 45 days / real property counts toward the cap / homestead and statutory allowances excluded), 28-50-101 (creditor claims — 6 months from first publication; (h) 2 years from first publication for known or reasonably ascertainable creditors; (d) 5-year absolute bar), 28-48-201 (bond — court "may require"; mandatory on written demand under (b)(1)), 28-48-206 (court may increase, decrease, or dispense with bond for good cause), 28-40-111(a)(1)(A) (mandatory publication of notice of appointment), 28-1-112 (notice requirements), 28-40-119 (court admits will and grants letters), 28-1-106 (probate referee and clerk), 28-52-103(a) (PR must file verified accounts with the court), 28-49-110 (PR-prepared inventory). Bond sections rewritten by Act 326 of 2023 (HB1448, 94th GA): § 28-48-201 "shall take" stricken and "may require" added, § 28-48-203 (sureties) repealed, and § 28-48-206's will-direction / FDIC-fiduciary / distributee-waiver dispensations stricken. Verified 2026-07-14. The official Arkansas Code (lexisnexis.com/hottopics/arcode/) is JS/Lexis-walled, so every section above was read from the codified "Arkansas Code of 1987 (2024)" edition on law.justia.com (e.g. law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-28/subtitle-4/chapter-48/subchapter-2/section-28-48-206/), cross-checked against the enacted Act 326 of 2023 PDF from the official source (arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FACT326.pdf). Because act PDFs render stricken text identically to enacted text, every Act 326 change above was confirmed against the codified section, not the act alone. CURRENCY (2026-07-14): no act of any session enacted after the codified edition's currency date amends any cited section. Confirmed two ways against the Legislature's own site: (1) arkleg's official "Code Sections Amended" index for Title 28 (arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/CodeSectionsAmended) for the 2024 Fiscal, 2024 Second Extraordinary, 2025 Regular, 2026 Fiscal, and 2026 First Extraordinary sessions — the only 2025 Title 28 amendments are ch. 65 guardianship (Acts 713, 518, 315), § 28-8-102 / §§ 28-40-110(c), -112, -121 (Act 692, missing-person legal-death procedure), §§ 28-69-802/-803 (Act 308), and new ch. 78 Uniform Trust Decanting Act (Act 680); (2) a full-text scan of every enacted public act of all five of those sessions (1,026 acts in 2025R plus 177 + 6 + 175 + 3) downloaded from arkleg and converted with pdftotext — the strings 28-48-108, 28-48-201, 28-48-206, 28-50-101, 28-40-111, 28-40-119, 28-1-106, 28-52-103, and 28-41-101 appear in exactly one act (Act 713 of 2025), and there only as a cross-reference to § 28-48-201 et seq. inside the guardian-bond section § 28-65-215(d), not as an amendment.Verified Jul 14, 2026 The process typically takes 6-9 months for simple estates and 9-12 months on average. The 6-month creditor claim period sets a minimum timeline. The Arkansas estate settlement plan outlines each step.
Executor fees and attorney fees are separate costs in Arkansas probate. Attorney fees are set by statute.Ark. Code § 28-48-108(d)(2) (6-tier statutory schedule on total market value of real + personal property; court may adjust if excessive or insufficient)Verified Jul 14, 2026 Executor compensation is calculated separately from attorney fees. Both fees are paid from the estate before distribution to beneficiaries. To estimate the attorney fee, use the Arkansas probate attorney fee calculator.
Total probate costs in Arkansas include executor fees, attorney fees, court filing fees, publication costs, and potentially bond premiums. Executor compensation is one component of the overall expense. On a $500,000 estate, the total runs about $28,415 — roughly 6% of estate value — depending on complexity.Ark. Code §§ 28-48-108(a) (executor compensation — just and reasonable, capped at 10% first $1K / 5% next $4K / 3% balance of personal property fully administered), 28-48-108(d)(2)-(3) (attorney fee schedule — 6-tier, 5% to 2%, on total market value reportable in circuit court; court adjusts if excessive or insufficient), 28-41-101 (small estate affidavit — $100K / 45 days / real property counts toward the cap / homestead and statutory allowances excluded), 28-50-101 (creditor claims — 6 months from first publication; (h) 2 years from first publication for known or reasonably ascertainable creditors; (d) 5-year absolute bar), 28-48-201 (bond — court "may require"; mandatory on written demand under (b)(1)), 28-48-206 (court may increase, decrease, or dispense with bond for good cause), 28-40-111(a)(1)(A) (mandatory publication of notice of appointment), 28-1-112 (notice requirements), 28-40-119 (court admits will and grants letters), 28-1-106 (probate referee and clerk), 28-52-103(a) (PR must file verified accounts with the court), 28-49-110 (PR-prepared inventory). Bond sections rewritten by Act 326 of 2023 (HB1448, 94th GA): § 28-48-201 "shall take" stricken and "may require" added, § 28-48-203 (sureties) repealed, and § 28-48-206's will-direction / FDIC-fiduciary / distributee-waiver dispensations stricken. Verified 2026-07-14. The official Arkansas Code (lexisnexis.com/hottopics/arcode/) is JS/Lexis-walled, so every section above was read from the codified "Arkansas Code of 1987 (2024)" edition on law.justia.com (e.g. law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-28/subtitle-4/chapter-48/subchapter-2/section-28-48-206/), cross-checked against the enacted Act 326 of 2023 PDF from the official source (arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FACT326.pdf). Because act PDFs render stricken text identically to enacted text, every Act 326 change above was confirmed against the codified section, not the act alone. CURRENCY (2026-07-14): no act of any session enacted after the codified edition's currency date amends any cited section. Confirmed two ways against the Legislature's own site: (1) arkleg's official "Code Sections Amended" index for Title 28 (arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/CodeSectionsAmended) for the 2024 Fiscal, 2024 Second Extraordinary, 2025 Regular, 2026 Fiscal, and 2026 First Extraordinary sessions — the only 2025 Title 28 amendments are ch. 65 guardianship (Acts 713, 518, 315), § 28-8-102 / §§ 28-40-110(c), -112, -121 (Act 692, missing-person legal-death procedure), §§ 28-69-802/-803 (Act 308), and new ch. 78 Uniform Trust Decanting Act (Act 680); (2) a full-text scan of every enacted public act of all five of those sessions (1,026 acts in 2025R plus 177 + 6 + 175 + 3) downloaded from arkleg and converted with pdftotext — the strings 28-48-108, 28-48-201, 28-48-206, 28-50-101, 28-40-111, 28-40-119, 28-1-106, 28-52-103, and 28-41-101 appear in exactly one act (Act 713 of 2025), and there only as a cross-reference to § 28-48-201 et seq. inside the guardian-bond section § 28-65-215(d), not as an amendment.Verified Jul 14, 2026 Use the Arkansas probate calculator for a complete cost estimate.
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