Executor Commission: What Executors Can Claim

How Much Commission Executors Can Claim

Executor commission has no fixed percentage that applies to every estate. Courts assess the executor’s pains and trouble and the reasonableness of the resulting payment.

In Re Estate Gowing; Application for Executor’s Commission [2014] NSWSC 247, the NSW Supreme Court explains that percentage ranges are guidance. The final dollar amount must still be reasonable for the particular administration.

The assessment considers the estate’s size and complexity, responsibility carried and problems resolved. Time spent and the work actually performed also matter. Explain the skill required by difficult tasks, such as managing a business sale or resolving conflicting financial records.

An expensive property can produce a large estate with relatively few administration tasks. Several modest assets can require much more work. Separate what the executor did personally from work performed by a solicitor, accountant or selling agent.

Victoria’s section 65 sets a five per cent ceiling for court-allowed commission for a private executor. That ceiling is not an automatic award or a starting rate.

In a hypothetical example, an executor seeks five per cent of an estate worth $2 million. That calculation produces a $100,000 claim in Australian dollars. If the work consists of one property sale and a few transfers, the executor must explain why that payment reflects their contribution.

The calculation proves only the amount requested. It does not prove entitlement or reasonableness.

Who Decides the Amount

The will, the affected beneficiaries’ agreement or the court can authorise executor commission. Each route needs its own supporting basis.

Read a remuneration clause for the work it covers and the method of payment it permits. A gift to an executor also needs examination. A legacy conditional on acting as executor can affect a separate commission claim.

An agreement must include every affected beneficiary who has capacity to consent, normally the residuary beneficiaries. Obtain informed agreement from all relevant adult beneficiaries. Adult consent alone cannot bind a minor or a beneficiary lacking capacity.

For a court application, identify the jurisdiction and the provision that gives the court power to allow payment.

Jurisdiction	Court Power	Effect on the Claim
NSW	Section 86 of the Probate and Administration Act 1898	Allows just and reasonable commission for pains and trouble when estate accounts are passed.
Victoria	Section 65 of the Administration and Probate Act 1958	Allows just and reasonable commission within the statutory ceiling.
Queensland	Section 160 of the Trusts Act 2025	Allows remuneration the court considers appropriate. Section 7 includes a personal representative within trustee.

The NSW Supreme Court’s commission guidance explains the application and agreement routes. A court claim requires accounts for the relevant period to be passed. See passing estate accounts for that process.

In Victoria’s Administration and Probate Act, sections 65B to 65D impose further consent and information requirements. A remuneration clause requires the will-maker’s written informed consent. Beneficiaries must receive the payment basis, calculation method and estimated amount, with information about court review.

Queensland’s Trusts Act 2025 also distinguishes court-allowed remuneration from professional charges under section 159. That statutory route depends on professional trustee status and the terms of the trust instrument. It does not give a family executor an automatic professional fee.

Commission Versus Legal and Out-of-Pocket Costs

Commission pays for executorial work, reimbursement repays proper expenses and legal fees pay for professional legal services. Classify each payment before assessing total deceased estate administration costs.

Usual costs include the probate filing fee, legal fees, valuations and funeral expenses. Property administration can also involve insurance, maintenance and sale costs. Proper estate expenses and debts reduce the funds available for distribution to beneficiaries.

A filing fee is a court charge, even if the executor pays it personally and later claims reimbursement. A solicitor’s invoice is a professional charge. Neither payment establishes the executor’s own entitlement to commission.

Keep receipts and invoices beside the account entries. Record what the executor paid personally and what the estate paid directly. That distinction helps expose a reimbursement request for a cost the estate has already paid.

Where an executor is also a solicitor, separate legal work from ordinary administration. Compare the work described in each invoice with the commission claim. The same task appearing in both needs an explanation of the authority and payment basis.

The NSW court guidance requires professional bills and scrutiny of executorial work charged within them. Costs of the accounts and commission application are fixed separately by the Registrar. They must not be paid from the estate before the accounts are passed.

Evidence of the Work Done

Estate accounts and bank records show the transactions an executor handled and help test the work claimed. A transaction ledger connects the executor’s narrative to identifiable receipts and payments.

Build the evidence around tasks. For each account closure, retain the closing statement and the transfer of its balance. For each asset sale, connect the settlement record with proceeds received and associated expenses.

Compare those entries with correspondence and the executor’s work summary. A ledger shows money movements, but time spent negotiating, locating documents or dealing with a dispute needs evidence of those activities.

In NSW, Gowing explains that commission is not ordinarily assessed by multiplying an hourly rate by each attendance. Time records can still help explain the burden of the work. They support the assessment without turning commission into a commercial hourly invoice.

Consider a hypothetical claim for handling six account closures. The ledger shows two closures followed by four transfers between existing estate accounts. Ask for closure documents for the remaining accounts before accepting the description of the work.

That mismatch identifies an evidence question. It does not establish that the executor fabricated their time. A closure might also involve work outside the bank statement, such as repeated correspondence over identification or authority.

FinTrace saves hours of statement review by consolidating supplied PDFs into a searchable Excel ledger and a clear findings report. Lawyers and forensic accountants can use that ledger to compare claimed transactions with the estate’s actual money movements. Every finding cites its source PDF filename and page, putting the supporting evidence at hand.

Keep the financial analysis beside the executor’s narrative and professional invoices. Together they show which tasks occurred, who performed them and what the estate already paid. The wider executor duties explain the responsibilities that commission rewards.

Objecting to a Claim

A beneficiary can object to the amount or basis of executor commission and identify the evidence that contradicts the claim. Start by requesting the accounts, payment calculation and authority relied on.

State objections by item. Identify duplicated work, unexplained withdrawals or tasks attributed to the executor that invoices show another person performed. Distinguish a disputed payment from dissatisfaction with the executor’s general communication.

The NSW Probate Accounts Guidelines distinguish objections before proceedings from appearances in existing proceedings. A beneficiary can file a notice of intended objection before the accounts proceedings begin. An appearance can make an existing, unfinished accounts application contested.

Gowing confirms that a breach of trust, neglect or disregard of fiduciary obligations can lead to refusal of commission. Link the conduct to the obligation breached and support it with records. See investigating executor fraud when the concern extends to suspected misappropriation.

Victoria’s section 65A permits reduction or repayment of excessive commission and specified expenses. Queensland’s section 161 permits review and reduction of excessive commission or professional charges. These powers make the authority to charge and the reasonableness of the amount separate issues.

In NSW, passing accounts does not resolve every dispute about ownership, missing assets or breaches of trust. Those issues can require separate Equity proceedings. Frame the commission objection around the payment sought and bring any wider claim through the procedure that can determine it.

Before advising agreement or opposition, reconcile the requested payment with the accounts and the work evidence. Then identify the specific amount accepted, the disputed items and the order needed to resolve them.