How the New Mexico executor fee actually works
A statute that used to run on percentages — and was completely rewritten decades ago to remove them.
1. Bare reasonable compensation, no formula
NMSA 1978 § 45-3-719: "A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for his services." That's the entire operative standard — no percentage, no schedule, no enumerated factor list in the text itself.
2. A real, decades-old repeal of the old percentage schedule
Legislative history: the section was repealed and reenacted by Laws 1995, ch. 210, § 38, replacing an older, percentage-driven predecessor with the current bare standard. This matters because older annotated New Mexico cases that compute a specific dollar or percentage allowance are expressly flagged in the official annotations as decided under that former law — not a reliable guide to what the current statute allows.
3. Old case law, explicitly outdated by its own annotation
In re Estate of Corwin (1987) and In re Estate of Greig (1988): both cases discussed specific compensation formulas and rates — including a "reduced rate of compensation" for certain assets, and a trial court's authority to award more than "the general compensation formula" — but both are annotated as decided under the pre-1995 law. Under the current text, there's no formula to reduce a rate from, or to exceed.
4. The court can review a self-determined fee — and order it refunded
§ 45-3-721: after notice to interested persons or on petition of an interested person, the court may review the reasonableness of compensation a personal representative determined for their own services, and order a refund of any excessive amount.
5. The will's compensation, and renunciation
§ 45-3-719: 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 | New Mexico figure |
|---|---|
| Current statutory formula | None — "reasonable compensation" only |
| Pre-1995 predecessor | Percentage-based (repealed) |
| Self-determined fee review | Available under § 45-3-721; refund possible |