How the Idaho executor fee actually works
No percentage table — and one practitioner's real-world account suggests non-professional rates run notably modest in practice.
1. Reasonable compensation, no formula
Idaho Code § 15-3-719: "A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for his services." That's the entire operative standard — no percentage, no dollar table, the bare Uniform Probate Code formulation.
2. A real, concrete figure from practice
A practicing Idaho probate attorney (Racine Olson): "I have personally seen Idaho courts determine that hourly rates up to $25 an hour are reasonable for non-professionals." This isn't a statutory number — it's one attorney's direct, real-world account of what Idaho courts have actually approved — but it's a genuinely useful, concrete anchor in a state with no rate written into law at all.
3. Professionals are treated differently
Same source: "If a professional such as an accountant, or an attorney is appointed, they are entitled to be paid whatever their reasonable hourly rates are for their profession." A non-professional family member and a professional fiduciary aren't judged by the same reasonable-rate baseline.
4. Review and refund for self-determined amounts
Idaho Code § 15-3-721: lets an interested person petition the court to review the reasonableness of compensation a personal representative determined for their own services, with excessive amounts subject to refund.
5. The will's compensation, and renunciation
§ 15-3-719: if the will sets compensation and there's no separate contract with the decedent, the personal representative may renounce that provision before qualifying and get reasonable compensation instead. A personal representative may also renounce all or part of the compensation generally, with a written renunciation filed with the court.
| Component | Idaho figure |
|---|---|
| Statutory formula | None — "reasonable compensation" only |
| Reported non-professional rate | Up to ~$25/hr, per one attorney's account |
| Professional (attorney, accountant) rate | Their own reasonable professional rate |