1.  An attorney for a personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for the attorney’s services, to be paid out of the decedent‘s estate.

Ask a will, trust or estate question, get an answer ASAP!
Thousands of highly rated, verified estate & trust lawyers.
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

2.  An attorney for a personal representative may be compensated based on:

(a) The applicable hourly rate of the attorney;

(b) The value of the estate accounted for by the personal representative;

(c) An agreement as set forth in subsection 4 of NRS 150.061; or

(d) Any other method preapproved by the court pursuant to a request in the initial petition for the appointment of the personal representative.

3.  If the attorney is requesting compensation based on the hourly rate of the attorney, he or she may include, as part of that compensation for ordinary services, a charge for legal services or paralegal services performed by a person under the direction and supervision of the attorney.

4.  If the attorney is requesting compensation based on the value of the estate accounted for by the personal representative, the court shall allow compensation of the attorney for ordinary services as follows:

(a) For the first $100,000, at the rate of 4 percent;

(b) For the next $100,000, at the rate of 3 percent;

(c) For the next $800,000, at the rate of 2 percent;

(d) For the next $9,000,000, at the rate of 1 percent;

(e) For the next $15,000,000, at the rate of 0.5 percent; and

(f) For all amounts above $25,000,000, a reasonable amount to be determined by the court.

5.  Before an attorney may receive compensation based on the value of the estate accounted for by the personal representative, the personal representative must sign a written agreement as required by subsection 8. The agreement must be prepared by the attorney and must include detailed information, concerning, without limitation:

(a) The schedule of fees to be charged by the attorney;

(b) The manner in which compensation for extraordinary services may be charged by the attorney; and

(c) The fact that the court is required to approve the compensation of the attorney pursuant to subsection 8 before the personal representative pays any such compensation to the attorney.

6.  For the purposes of determining the compensation of an attorney pursuant to subsection 4, the value of the estate accounted for by the personal representative:

(a) Is the total amount of the appraisal of property in the inventory, plus:

(1) The gains over the appraisal value on sales; and

(2) The receipts, less losses from the appraisal value on sales; and

(b) Does not include encumbrances or other obligations on the property of the estate.

7.  In addition to the compensation for ordinary services of an attorney set forth in this section, an attorney may also be entitled to receive compensation for extraordinary services as set forth in NRS 150.061.

8.  The compensation of the attorney must be fixed by written agreement between the personal representative and the attorney, and is subject to approval by the court, after petition, notice and hearing as provided in this section. If the personal representative and the attorney fail to reach agreement, or if the attorney is also the personal representative, the amount must be determined and allowed by the court. The petition requesting approval of the compensation of the attorney must contain specific and detailed information supporting the entitlement to compensation, including:

(a) If the attorney is requesting compensation based upon the value of the estate accounted for by the personal representative, the attorney must provide the manner of calculating the compensation in the petition; and

(b) If the attorney is requesting compensation based on an hourly basis, or is requesting compensation for extraordinary services, the attorney must provide the following information to the court:

(1) Reference to time and hours;

(2) The nature and extent of services rendered;

(3) Claimed ordinary and extraordinary services;

(4) The complexity of the work required; and

(5) Other information considered to be relevant to a determination of entitlement.

9.  The clerk shall set the petition for hearing, and the petitioner shall give notice of the petition to the personal representative if he or she is not the petitioner and to all known heirs in an intestacy proceeding and devisees in a will proceeding. The notice must be given for the period and in the manner provided in NRS 155.010. If a complete copy of the petition is not attached to the notice, the notice must include a statement of the amount of the fee which the court will be requested to approve or allow.

10.  On similar petition, notice and hearing, the court may make an allowance to an attorney for services rendered up to a certain time during the proceedings. If the attorney is requesting compensation based upon the value of the estate as accounted for by the personal representative, the court may apportion the compensation as it deems appropriate given the amount of work remaining to close the estate.

11.  An heir or devisee may file objections to a petition filed pursuant to this section, and the objections must be considered at the hearing.

12.  Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, an attorney for minor, absent, unborn, incapacitated or nonresident heirs is entitled to compensation primarily out of the estate of the distributee so represented by the attorney in those cases and to such extent as may be determined by the court. If the court finds that all or any part of the services performed by the attorney for the minor, absent, unborn, incapacitated or nonresident heirs was of value to the decedent’s entire estate as such and not of value only to those heirs, the court shall order that all or part of the attorney’s fee be paid to the attorney out of the money of the decedent’s entire estate as a general administrative expense of the estate. The amount of these fees must be determined in the same manner as the other attorney’s fees provided for in this section.