Wisconsin personal representative compensation

Wisconsin executor fee calculator

Subject to court approval, the default is 2% of inventory value for accountable property less mortgages or liens plus net principal gains.

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised October 14, 2026.

1. Where and when

StateWisconsinFixed to this page. Open the navigator to compare another state.

2. Compensation base

Asset 1

DescriptionValue$Not entered. A blank amount is not counted as zero.Enforceable liens or mortgage$Not entered. Enter 0 if there is no lien.OwnershipThis is real property

Asset 2

DescriptionValue$Not entered. A blank amount is not counted as zero.Enforceable liens or mortgage$Not entered. Enter 0 if there is no lien.OwnershipThis is real propertyWill it be sold during administration?Some court charges are assessed on sale proceeds and exclude real property that is kept, so this changes the amount.

Ownership determines whether an asset usually enters probate. Choose “Not sure” when title or beneficiary status has not been confirmed.

inventory value of the property for which the personal representative is accountable less any mortgages or liens plus net principal gains$Use the statutory accounting figure; do not apply 2% to gross probate property. Leaving it blank keeps the compensation undecided rather than assuming a number.

Private by design: entries stay in this browser.

Your working estimate

Wisconsin estate snapshot

Gross probate propertyNot yet counted

Court chargeMore information neededPetition commencing a deceased-person estate proceeding (operative from 2026-11-01)2 asset entries have no value entered. A blank amount is not treated as zero, so the charge cannot be computed.Court charges only, for the proceeding named beside each figure. That proceeding is not always the route screened above.

Scheduled executor compensationCase accounting neededEnter the compensable value above and this schedule is applied to it, band by band.Subject to court approval, the default is 2% of inventory value for accountable property less mortgages or liens plus net principal gains. A written agreement may set another rate; the court may add reasonable sums for unusual difficulty or extraordinary services and may reduce or deny compensation for dereliction.

This route check is general information, not legal advice. It does not test every eligibility condition, creditor issue, will provision, local fee, or asset-title fact.

How Wisconsin sets executor compensation

A written agreement may set another rate; the court may add reasonable sums for unusual difficulty or extraordinary services and may reduce or deny compensation for dereliction.

The calculator applies the Wisconsin schedule to the value you enter, measured against the figures shown in the estate's court accounting. Wis. Stat. § 857.05(1) also allows the representative all necessary expenses in the care, management and settlement of the estate. Wis. Stat. § 857.05(2) replaces the 2% rate with any rate the decedent, or the persons receiving the majority interest in the estate, agree with the representative in writing; its only reference to a will is that the court must allow both commissions and attorney fees to a representative who is also the estate’s lawyer when the will authorizes it.

The figure the Wisconsin schedule is applied to

The rate is only half of the answer; the other half is the number the rate is applied to, and in Wisconsin that number is specific. The reviewed rule measures compensation against the inventory value of the property for which the personal representative is accountable less any mortgages or liens plus net principal gains. Use the statutory accounting figure; do not apply 2% to gross probate property.

The Wisconsin schedule is one flat rate on the whole figure, with no bands.

Compensation source

Statute

Wis. Stat. § 857.05

Wisconsin Statutes, Personal Representative Expenses and Services

The section’s own words

857.05 Allowances to personal representative for expenses and services. 857.05(1) (1) Expenses. The personal representative shall be allowed all necessary expenses in the care, management and settlement of the estate. 857.05(2) (2) Services. Subject to the approval of the court the personal representative shall be allowed for his or her services commissions computed on the inventory value of the property for which the personal representative is accountable less any mortgages or liens plus net principal gains in the estate proceedings at a rate of 2 percent or a rate that the decedent and the personal representative, or the persons who receive the majority interest in the estate and the personal representative, agree to in writing; and such further sums in cases of unusual difficulty or extraordinary services as the court determines reasonable.

Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau · 2023-24 Wisconsin Statutes updated through 2025 Wis. Act 247 and through all Supreme Court Orders and Controlled Substances Board Orders filed before and in effect on October 1, 2026. Published and certified under s. 35.18. Changes effective after October 1, 2026, are designated by NOTES. (Published 10-1-26) · Rechecked October 3, 2026

Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: Wisconsin source list · how sources are checked · report a correction

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