Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Ohio

Re: Executor fee

This is not an easy question. The Court allows a fee that is a percentage of the account, and the percentage gets smaller as the estate gets larger. So for example $100,000 dollar fee would be a higher percentage, but a lower total fee than a million dollar estate. Other lawyers bill estates by the hour, for example $200 per hour. However, the bill is not permitted to exceed the maximum allowed by the court under the percentages described above. I usually recommend that clients allow the attorney to take the estate on an hourly basis since the court will have to approve the fee before it is paid, and it will not be allowed to exceed the percentage the court would otherwise approve anyway.