Work it out on your own number

Minnesota publishes no schedule to compute. What it publishes is a list of factors, and they are not the same list for the attorney as for the representative — so here they are, side by side, rather than merged into one sentence.

What each part costs

Every row is one figure, one source, one date. Where Minnesota fixes no price, the row says so instead of guessing.

What can change the bill — allowances, waivers and one-off charges

What changes YOUR number in Minnesota

A fee agreement signed before death outranks the factor test

Minnesota is the only state in this database whose statute gives express effect to a written agreement about attorney fees made by the testator — the person who made the will — before they died. Where such an agreement exists, the court gives effect to it rather than running the five-factor test. If you are the personal representative and you find one in the papers, it governs, and it is worth looking for before you negotiate anything.

The two factor tests are different lengths, and that is deliberate

The attorney test has five factors and the representative’s has three. The attorney’s list includes the experience and knowledge of the attorney and the sufficiency of assets available to pay — neither of which appears in the representative’s list. They are separate sections in separate chapters and should never be quoted as one test.

The size of the estate is expressly not the controlling factor

This is unusual enough to be worth saying twice. On a review of attorney fees the statute directs that the value of the estate shall not control. A large estate does not by itself justify a large fee in Minnesota, and the argument that it does has no statutory footing here.

The representative can walk away from the will’s figure — but only before qualifying

Where the will names a compensation figure and there was no contract with the person who died, the representative may renounce that provision and take reasonable compensation instead. The renunciation has to happen before qualifying. Once qualified, the will’s figure stands.

The court fee does not move with the estate

At $310.00 flat, Minnesota is one of the states where a large estate and a small one pay the court the same. What moves with size in Minnesota is the professional fees, and those are argued rather than computed.

Medical Assistance can hold up distribution for seventy days

Where medical assistance was paid to the person who died or to a predeceased spouse, the notice goes to the commissioner or the county agency as well as to the newspaper, and a seventy-day restriction on distribution follows. It does not change what the estate pays in fees, but it changes when anyone sees any money.

Three tools, in the order most people need them

Minnesota probate cost questions

How much does an executor get paid in Minnesota?

Minnesota sets no percentage. The personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation, and the court decides what that is by weighing three things: the time and labour required, the complexity and novelty of the problems involved, and the extent of the responsibilities assumed and the results obtained. If the will names a figure and there was no contract with the person who died, the representative can renounce that provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation instead. Many family representatives give the fee up entirely, in writing, filed with the court.

Does Minnesota set probate attorney fees by statute?

No. An attorney working for the estate is paid just and reasonable compensation out of the estate, with no percentage anywhere in the code. If the person who made the will signed a written fee agreement about attorney fees before death, the court gives effect to that agreement. Otherwise five factors decide the fee, and the statute says outright that on review the value of the estate is not the controlling factor. Any interested person can ask the court to review what was charged.

What does it cost to file for probate in Minnesota?

Three hundred and ten dollars for the first paper filed, and it does not change with the size of the estate. The probate statute points at the district court general civil fee schedule, so a probate petition pays the same first-paper fee as any other civil case. It is payable in advance and the court administrator will not proceed until it is paid. Depositing a will with the court is twenty-seven dollars and a certified copy is fourteen dollars.

Does an executor need a bond in Minnesota?

Usually not. Minnesota starts from no bond. In an informal probate none is needed unless a special administrator is being appointed, the will expressly requires one, or an interested person demands one. In a formal probate none is needed where the will relieves the representative of bond, or where everyone with more than one thousand dollars at stake, apart from creditors, asks in writing that no bond be required. The court keeps the last word and can insist on a bond to protect interested persons.

Does Minnesota have a small estate affidavit?

Yes, and the limit is seventy-five thousand dollars. Thirty days after the death, if the whole probate estate is worth that or less after liens and encumbrances are deducted, a successor can collect the property by presenting a certified death record and a signed affidavit to whoever is holding it. The value is measured at the date of death and counts property wherever it is located, including the contents of a safe deposit box. It moves personal property only, not real estate, and it is unavailable if anyone has already applied to be appointed personal representative anywhere.

Sources & verification

Every figure on this page was checked against the official source on the date shown. Minnesota statutes are published by the Office of the Revisor of Statutes with a stable address for each section.