How the Nebraska executor fee actually works
A bare "reasonable compensation" statute — but a real Nebraska Supreme Court case gives it genuine, citable shape.
1. Reasonable compensation, no formula in the text
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2480: "A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for his services." No percentage, no dollar table — the same bare Uniform Probate Code standard used across several states.
2. A real case that supplies the missing factors
In re Estate of Gsantner, 288 Neb. 222, 846 N.W.2d 646 (2014): the Nebraska Supreme Court held that "the factors in section 30-2482 provide an indication of what facts the Legislature intended to be considered when determining a reasonable fee," and that "it is within a trial court's discretion to weigh the factors that are relevant to a determination of the reasonableness of a fee."
3. The factors themselves
Drawn from § 30-2482, as applied in Gsantner: the time and labor required; the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved and the skill required to perform the service properly; the fee customarily charged locally for similar services; and the amount involved and the results obtained, together with the experience, reputation, and ability of the person performing the services.
4. Borrowed from a section written for something else
§ 30-2482, "Proceedings for review of employment of agents and compensation of personal representatives and employees of estate": this section is primarily framed around reviewing the compensation of employed agents — attorneys, auditors, investment advisors — and a personal representative's own self-determined compensation, with a refund remedy for excessive amounts. Gsantner's real contribution is applying its factor list to the separate question of what counts as "reasonable" under § 30-2480 in the first place.
5. Independent of the estate's own fortunes
Gsantner: "A personal representative's right to reasonable compensation under this section exists independently of the rights of the estate." A thin or contested estate doesn't itself defeat the personal representative's separate right to reasonable pay for the work performed.
| Component | Nebraska figure |
|---|---|
| Statutory formula | None — "reasonable compensation" only |
| Reasonableness factors | From § 30-2482, applied via Gsantner |
| Compensation right vs. estate's rights | Independent, per Gsantner |