Brooklyn Executor Fee

Do you need assistance with understanding how much an executor can get paid? Are you curious about Brooklyn executor fees? If so, you need to retain a Brooklyn executor fees attorney immediately. Issues related to court cases on executor fees are handled in the Surrogate Court in Brooklyn.

A Brooklyn executor fees lawyer will explain to you that there are strict rules on the books about how much an executor can get paid. Retaining the services of a knowledgeable executor fees lawyer in Brooklyn is important if you believe that the executor has overstepped his or her fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries and made mistakes. Some of the steps of generating a will involves naming a person or an entity to take on the management of the estate after you die. This person is known as an executor.

The last will goes through the process of probate after you pass away and the surrogate court in your individual location, in this case Brooklyn, will review the internal elements of the will to verify validity. Since the process of closing out someone's estate can be time consuming, lengthy and complicated, an executor is entitled to reasonable compensation.

Some of the different aspects of estate management handled by an executor include paying estate bills, inventorying the assets inside the estate, managing any litigation that arises and other issues linked to the estate. This can be a significant amount of work depending on the amount of money involved, the total number of beneficiaries and the total volume of assets.

Since there is a high volume of work tied to the executor duties, New York law entitles executors to be paid. The testator does not have to include a separate statement in the will for payment to the executor. Executors are allowed to charge reasonable payments for their work that they complete as fiduciaries, but it is important that they understand this role as fiduciaries and do not violate it, such as transferring money to themselves or engaging in any other type of malfeasance.

New York Surrogate Court Procedure section 2307 outlines executor fees. The total amount of executor fees that can be charged in an estate have to do with the total value of the estate. The fees typically range from 2% to 5% based on the total value of funds the executor gets and pays through the estate. For example, if the money does not exceed $100,000, the executor's fee is 5%. For receiving/paying out all sums above $5 million, however, the rate is 2%.

There are breakdowns at the $200,000, $700,000 and $4 million level as well. The testator might also determine that another fee is appropriate for their executor and will outline this in his or her will. In the event that the executor is additionally the beneficiary, it is typical for an executor to waive this fee he or she would have received since the fee can be taxable income whereas distributions are not. If multiple executors are involved in the case, then fees must be divided between the executors based on the services rendered by each person. There are specific assets that might not be considered inside the estate for the goals of determining the fee for the executor as these do not pass through probate. This includes assets inside a 401(k) plan and a life insurance policy.

The fee charged by an executor must be consistent with statutory requirements and as a beneficiary, you can request an accounting of the estate overall so that you can see whether or not the estate executor has followed the laws or whether or not you have grounds to challenge him or her and remove them from the case. In instances of malfeasance or illegal behavior you can petition the court to have the executor removed.