Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Executor/Legal Fees
My three siblings and I are equal in my parents estate which has not been distributed yet. My brother asked my sister for an accounting of the estate which is one sole bank account. My sister then hired an attorney to represent her for this.
She states that her attorney is going to be paid out of the estate and that since she is said executor of the estate she can receive an additional 10 percent of the estate, is this true? She actually paid for the attorney out of pocket but says the estate will have to reimburse her.She is not doing anything out of the ordinary as executor,hired a lawyer to answer the one family member who was questioning her and is trying to get the estate to pay for the lawyer and her. It does not seem right at all. Thank you.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Executor/Legal Fees
You do not say whether there is a probate court poroceeding pending. Ordinarily that would only be necessary where the bank account exceeded $100,000 or if you and your siblings could not agree on the division of the account. Bank accounts less than $100,000 can be distributed to all heirs on a simple affidavit signed by all of them. If there is no probate court proce3eding then no executor has been appointed and your sister would not be entitled to any compensation. If an attorney was employed to handle a non-probate transfer I doubt that the fees should exceed $500. which would be a proper charge against the funds. If there is a probate estate and your sister has been appointed as executor, then both the Executor and the attorney would be entitled to statutory fees for ordinary services based up the gross value of the asset. This is a sliding scale set forth in the Probate Code and generally amounts $3,150 on $100,000 and 2% above that.
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