How the Arkansas executor fee actually works
A three-tier ceiling on personal property, a genuinely separate path for real estate, and a self-administered model with real strings attached.
1. A declining ceiling on personal property only
Ark. Code § 28-48-108(a): compensation "is not to exceed ten percent (10%) of the first one thousand dollars ($1,000), five percent (5%) of the next four thousand dollars ($4,000), and three percent (3%) of the balance of the value of the personal property passing through the hands of the personal representative, provided that compensation shall be allowed only on the value of such property as shall have been fully administered." These are caps, not guarantees — the court can and does award less when the work doesn't justify the maximum.
2. Real estate is handled on a completely separate track
§ 28-48-108(b): "When the personal representative has performed substantial duties with respect to or on account of real property of the decedent, the court... may allow a reasonable compensation for such services" — in addition to the personal-property percentages above. Real estate never enters the main 10%/5%/3% calculation at all; it's its own, separately justified allowance.
3. Self-administered, with real oversight
§ 28-48-108(f)(1): "Upon election, a personal representative may fix his or her or its own fee... without prior approval from the court, but the reasonableness of the compensation... shall be reviewed by the court" — on petition of an interested person, on the personal representative's own petition, or on the court's own motion. (f)(2): "Any person who has received excessive compensation from the estate for services rendered may be ordered to make appropriate refunds." Real self-administration, but real, multi-triggered accountability behind it.
4. The attorney runs on a different schedule entirely
§ 28-48-108(d): the estate's attorney is compensated on its own value-bracket scale — 5% of the first $5,000, 4% of the next $20,000, 3% of the next $75,000, 2.75% of the next $300,000, 2.5% of the next $600,000, and 2% of the balance — which the court can adjust up or down if it proves excessive or insufficient.
| Tier | Rate |
|---|---|
| First $1,000 | 10% |
| $1,000 – $5,000 | 5% |
| Above $5,000 | 3% |