Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: Fee to adminster living trust

Are you asking what a typical attorney would charge to administer the estate (essentially assist the trustee), or are you asking what a typical amount the trustee gets paid to administer the estate?

The answer to the first question, what attorney's charge, is varied. It depends on the complexity of the estate, how easy it is to administer, get day to death values, need to draft secondary trusts, etc. Of course, this also depends on the attorney but administration fees usually start in the couple of thousands and can run to a much greater number.

If what you are asking is what the trustee gets paid... that depends on the terms of the trust. Generally a trust will limit the trustee's payment to a percentage of the estate/yearly interest/etc. Many trusts actually specify that the trustee should not receive any remuneration. Other trusts refer to "reasonable" payment, which is a more subjective term that should be decided based on the complexity of the administration process and the trust itself. In general though, under such a term, trustees get paid similar to what the attorney gets paid for the administration of the estate.

There really is no hard and fast rule on either of these topics. I would really caution you not to disperse assets quickly, as the trustee you could be held responsible for mis-allocated gifts or outstanding debts from the estate which are unable to be paid because assets were distributed out and no longer accessible.

Let us know if our office can help you out.