Estimated fee to be an Executor of an estate

[imnontrad]

Sometimes the maximum fee is set by state law.

I will be the executor for my older sister's estate. I probably will not charge $$$ for my time but this will require a lot of travel and time for me. She is passing part of her estate to siblings and nieces but the bulk of it is destined for a missionary she supports in Africa. It is going to be a mess.

 

[Global Wizzo]

My mom died last week and I’m in your position, but the estate is worth a lot less. The first thing I did was to have my brother figure out his costs for the month we were both doing a lot of support. I paid our expenses to her death. Then we kept up with expenses until the funeral and the clean up at her place was done.

From here on, I’ll recover actual expenses unless it starts eating up more time than I expect. I have moms lawyer updating deeds and handling that part.

In our case, my mom asked that I not tell my brother or other family members details of who gets what. There are a couple way too focused on making sure no one gets more.

Good luck and my sympathy for the loss.

 

[JJpop]

Thanks for the comment. Initially I didn't either but I've heard the argument for both sides and both my mother and siblings have mentioned the effort that has been required. My father left a number of things undone with their estate and my mother was not in the loop. Lot of trips to banks/medallion signatures and time on phone with brokerages & life insurance groups as well as trips to mail, etc.

Regardless of all the posters saying it is a labor of love, you are entitled to some compensation for such a complex and time consuming estate.
Do not feel guilty and I would ask my siblings what they think s fair and if they say nothing then tell them to take the job.

 

[pb4uski]

AFAIK you can just not accept a bequest. So just leaves a problem for the executor.

I think that it is true that you can refuse a bequest of a timeshare but I would think that would force the executor to reserve some assets that might otherwise be distributed to be able to pay the timeshare fees to avoid any legal peril from the timeshare company.