Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
State defined amont of executor fees
What are the law prescribed fees for an executor in probate of a will to perform his/her duties? I believe it is based on a percentage of the ''Net'' estate, that is the estate value after all debts are paid. Or is it a percentage of the gross estate, per se? I realize any extraordinary fees may warrant other payments to the executor. I am the main caretaker of my aged father and at my suggestion my father recently made one of my brothers executor -- so that I will not have that stress when my father passes. However, now I believe that I will still have to do the work since I am managing his assets now and taking him to medical appointments, etc. etc.. The related question is: should I, considering the circumstances, ask my father to make us co-executors -- so that I would ultimately be paid for the years of work I am now doing? Thank you in advance for your help.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: State defined amont of executor fees
The fees are based upon the gross estate. However, you really need to get out of the mind set of submitting your Father's estate to probate. Make an appointment with an attorney who specializes in Trusts, and get a complete trust package for you Dad. If he doesn't want to pay for it. Then you and your brother split the costs. They cost $500.00 to $1,500.00. A complete package will eliminate the potential problems of a conservatorship. There is no delay in distributing the assets to the beneficiaries, and the other benfits are too numerous to discuss here. If your Father's assets are below $100,000.00, and no real property worth more than $20,000.00. Then your Dad doesn't qualify for a probate. However the durable powers of attorney are very important.
Re: State defined amont of executor fees
The fees are based upon the gross assets.
If your father is still competant, he could put his assets into a trust. The will does not take affect until he passes away, but a trust goes into affect immediately. If his assets are in a trust, you completely avoid probate court, and can save thousands of dollars fees.
Also, you and your brother can be named co-successor trustees. You should do this right away, if possible.
Re: State defined amont of executor fees
The statutory fees are as follows: 4% of the first $100K, 3% of the next $100k, 2% of the next $800K, 1% of the next $9M, and .5% of the next $15M. These are based on the gross value of the estate, not the net.
Discussing this with your father depends on the situation--he may or may not be willing to talk about it, but it probably doesn't hurt to discuss your concerns.
Also, if you're handling all these functions now, he should talk with an attorney about creating powers of attorney and/or a trust to allow you or someone else to continue taking care of his needs in case he's incapacitated. Without these, he would need a conservatorship, which is more expensive.
Also, if the assets are in a trust, the trustee's fees would be more like 1% of the value of the assets, rather than the executor's 2-4%.
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