Quick answer: Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-631 entitles a personal representative to "reasonable compensation for services" — no percentage, no schedule, currently in force. Montana used to cap compensation at 3% of the first $40,000 of estate value plus 2% of the excess, but that entire schedule was deleted by Laws 2019, Ch. 313, § 74. Any source still citing those old percentages is describing repealed law. Get an illustrative estimate with the Montana executor fee calculator.
The old schedule, for context
Pre-2019 § 72-3-631(1): "Such compensation shall not exceed 3% of the first $40,000 of the value of the estate as reported for federal estate tax... purposes... and 2% of the value of the estate in excess of $40,000... However, a personal representative is entitled to a minimum compensation of the lesser of $100 or the value of the gross estate." Two distinctive features worth noting even though this is now repealed: the base was tied to the estate's value as reported for federal estate tax purposes, not simply its probate value, and there was a genuine statutory minimum.
Deleted in a real, documented 2019 reform
Laws 2019, Ch. 313, § 74 (Senate Bill 225): this amendment deleted the entire percentage schedule from § 72-3-631, leaving only "A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for services." A Montana law firm's account of the same legislative session confirms: "it removes the fee based formula that existed pre-2019 update. There is no percentage cap on reasonable fees."
Attorney fees changed too, in the same reform
2019 reform: the prior statute effectively limiting an attorney's compensation without court approval to about 3% of the estate was also removed — attorneys are now held to the same bare reasonableness standard as the personal representative.
Removing the schedule didn't remove oversight
Post-2019 practice: "Just because the statutory caps have been removed does not mean that there is no oversight. Any interested person (i.e. beneficiary or creditor) can petition the court concerning the propriety of the personal representative's fee or the fee of any person employed by the estate, including attorneys, investment advisors, and accountants."
The will's compensation, and renouncing it
§ 72-3-631(2): if the will provides for compensation and there's no contract with the decedent about it, the personal representative may renounce that provision before qualifying and take compensation under the current reasonable-compensation standard instead. A personal representative may also renounce the right to all or any part of the compensation, with a written renunciation filed with the court.
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