Washington executor fees

Washington pays the representative separately for lawyer’s work, and allows interim draws

Washington did not adopt the Uniform Probate Code’s compensation section, and RCW 11.48.210 reads differently from the uniform text used in Arizona, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Minnesota and Massachusetts. The measure is what the court “shall deem just and reasonable” — framed as the court’s allowance rather than as the representative’s entitlement.

Two provisions in that section have practical consequences. First, “additional compensation may be allowed for his or her services as attorney and for other services not required of a personal representative.” A Washington representative who is also a lawyer, or who performs work outside the representative’s ordinary duties, can be allowed a second layer of compensation for it rather than having it absorbed into one fee.

Second, on timing: compensation “may be allowed at the final account; but at any time during administration a personal representative or his or her attorney may apply to the court for an allowance upon the compensation of the personal representative and upon attorney’s fees.” The default is payment at the end, with an express route to an allowance on account before then. In a long administration that difference decides whether the representative carries the cost of the work for its duration.

Because the statute allows rather than entitles, a Washington fee is not settled until the court approves it, and the accounting is where that happens.

Source: RCW 11.48.210, read from the enacting state’s own published code on 2026-09-17. Quoted wording is the statute’s; the surrounding explanation is this site’s reading of it and is not legal advice.