Probate and Estate Administration: personal representative remuneration and legal fees

Last revised June 12, 2026

Personal representative

In British Columbia the remuneration of a personal representative is determined by one of the following: 

1. Specific designation of remuneration in the deceased’s will. This might be specified as a dollar amount or as a percentage of the estate’s total value at death.
2. When the will does not specifically outline the executor’s compensation, a personal representative is entitled to remuneration as set out in section 88 of the Trustee Act of British Columbia.

Section 88 of the Trustee Act allows for a personal representative to be paid a “fair and reasonable allowance not exceeding 5% of the gross aggregate value, including capital and income, of all of the assets of the estate”. It also provides for an annual care and management fee of 0.4% of the average market value of the estate’s assets which the personal representative must make an application to the Supreme Court.

In Re Mikaloff, 2018 BCSC 756 (Registrar), it was stated that “maximum remuneration is not awarded as a matter of routine.  The executor is entitled to a level of remuneration that is appropriate, fair and reasonable in the circumstances.”

Factors the courts have considered in determining “fair and reasonable” allowance include, but are not limited to:

1. the magnitude of the trust
2. the care and responsibility involved;
3. the time occupied in the administration;
4. the skill and ability displayed; and
5. the success achieved in the final result.

For tax purposes, remuneration paid to a personal representative is considered income and is taxable as such.

Reimbursement of expenses

In addition to remuneration, a personal representative is entitled to be reimbursed for any reasonable costs they may have incurred in the administration of the estate.

Such expenses may include reasonable costs for hiring professional services, such as a lawyer, so long as it is work that the personal representative was unable to perform in their own capacity.  Courts have found that fees for work delegated to a lawyer that the personal representative should have been able to do themself will be deducted from their remuneration,  Re Smith [1972] 2 O.R. 256; Re Lloyd Estate 1954 CanLII 237 (MB CA).

Legal fees

A lawyer acting in dual capacity providing legal services to the estate and as a personal representative is entitled to receive remuneration like any other personal representative provided the will includes a charging clause. A charging clause authorizes the lawyer to be paid separately in their executor and professional capacities. Under section 43 of the Wills and Estates and Succession Act payment under a charging clause is considered a legacy to the recipient. For this reason, a lawyer or their spouse should not be a witness to the will if it includes a charging clause.

A sample charging clause can be found in the British Columbia Estate Administration Practice Manual available at Courthouse Libraries BC. Further details about retainers and legal fees for probate and estate administration work is found in the British Columbia Probate & Estate Administration Practice Manual, chapter 17.

Case law

• Mikaloff (Re),  2018 BCSC 756 (Registrar) 
• Lloyd Estate (Re),  1954 CanLII 237 (MBCA) 
• Re Smith,  1972  CanLII 580 ( ON HCJ)

Content reviewed May, 27 2026