Does the personal representative have to pay attorney fees if there are no funds in the estate?

Generally, that depends on what the person signed when they hired the attorney. An attorney doesn't usually take on a probate in which there are no assets so there must have been assets in the beginning. If the assets are gone as the result of some action on the part of the executor then he/she may be liable for the costs of the probate. The debts of any estate must be paid before any property can be distributed. That includes the attorney's fees.