Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Delaware

Estate fees for trustee

An Attorney has been assigned trustee to father's estate. Numerous emails and phone calls were left unanswered for the better of 2 years, asking fee disclosure, total assets of the estate etc. Finally a $30,000 bill was sent to the heirs & we are asked to sign off with no recourse. Another atty in different state was hired, by trustee, to work out the trust (which we were informed after the fact)billed for $37,000. Is it customary for a trustee to ask $200./hour or is there truth to he 1% of total assets? Also, if we sign the agreement with no recourse towards the atty, what does that mean if the atty. has made errors? A family is at war over this. None of the heirs were kept updated on any developments-phone calls, emails were all ignored! We all feel the amount of hours billed were unfair, since most hours listed were for reading of our calls/emails. (the emails/calls were asking the same basic questions-things that are our right to know! HELP!


Asked on 6/27/04, 11:38 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Walter LeVine Walter D. LeVine, Esq.

Re: Estate fees for trustee

You and all heirs are entitled to a full accounting, from the day the trust started, before you sign off on anything. A trustee's fees are set by statute, not as a straight hourly billing. Only attorney's fees can be hourly. You also have the right to a formal judicial accounting, although this is somewhat costly. If they have not provided any details, you can file an action in the County Court, Probate Division, where the trust is located (as part of the probate proceeding if the trust was created under a Will or if a living trust created during the lifetime of the decedent). You can question all activities, get a detailed accounting, review bills, etc., and, if anything has been done improperly, the professionals are subject to punishment. Fees can also be contested in this litigation. If you need assistance, contact me.

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Answered on 6/28/04, 12:12 pm


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