It's fairly common knowledge that someone who acts as the executor of an estate can charge a fee for doing that job. What is less well known is how we can tell how much the person can charge.
When the deceased person has stated in the Will how much his or her executor is to receive for being the executor, the situation is clear. The amount stated in the Will is the appropriate amount. It can be expressed as a dollar amount or as a percentage of the estate. Unless something very unfortunate happens to the estate, such as being caught up in a lawsuit, the executor will be entitled only to the amount stated in the Will.
Executor's fees are over and above the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the executor (I will post again on executor's expenses later, as there is often confusion about what expenses should be reimbursed).
If the executor is a trust company, the person making the Will will agree on a fee schedule with the trust company at the time the Will is made. The Will should state that an agreement was signed. That way, it is clear to all parties involved how much the person making the Will wanted the trust company to receive in fees.
Most Wills don't say how much an executor can charge. That being the case, the executor will have to claim his compensation near the end of his work as executor, as he is preparing to send the beneficiaries their shares of the estate. The executor will prepare financial statements showing all transactions in and out of the estate, along with a statement that sets out how he proposes to distribute the assets to finish the estate. Part of that proposal is his request for fees for himself. The residuary beneficiaries (that is, the beneficiaries who share in the residue of the estate) are asked to agree to the amount he has requested.
Most provinces and territories don't use a specific formula that tells executors how much they can charge. Most rely on statutes that use phrases such as "fair and reasonable compensation". This leaves the concepts of "fair"and "reasonable"open to interpretation. Quite often, the executor and the beneficiaries don't see eye to eye on the amounts.
In Alberta, the accepted range of compensation is between 1% and 5% of the deceased's estate. Where an given executor falls within that range will depend on how complicated the estate is, whether there were any unique legal situations, the value of the assets, the amount of responsibility handled by the executor, how much time he or she put in, and other factors.
If the residuary beneficiaries think the claim is reasonable, they will agree in writing and the executor will take the proposed fee. If even one residuary beneficiary disputes the amount and it can't be negotiated to everyone's satisfaction, the amount may have to be set by a judge. If that happens, the estate pays for the lawyers to go to court and ask the judge to set the fee.
I encourage people making their Wills to think about including a clause stating how much your executor is to be paid. Talk to your lawyer about it if you want to discuss what is fair in your particular case. Remember that an experienced Wills lawyer will be able to give you ideas about how to handle pretty much any situation arising from an estate.
Hi Lynne. You write in good clear non technical English. Your info has helped 4 Bennies in the Uk to get to grips with Alberta procedures. There are 6 legatees and 12 Bennies, all in 70,80 & 90 year range. Several could well have welcomed a partial distribution to help them in their later years. Our cousin died as lon ago as Nov 2010. The Exec declined to make any Interim Distribution saying it was unheard of. It has taken a year after Probate to get the Clearance Certificate -we understood it is usually up to 6 months in Alberta and 3 months in BC.
ReplyDeleteWe now await the Exec's 64 page report -omg - and we have to agree the requested fees! I really think Canada should start again and simplify the whole system. It is so important to specify in the Will the basis for fees. The 'Executors Year' has no bearing in this case !
Regards
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you find the site useful. Given the number of questions I get here and by way of email and phone, I know people are looking for information.
I always wonder about executors who refuse to make interim distributions. It is certainly not "unheard of". In fact, it is more the rule than the exception that executors try to get the estate out to the beneficiaries as quickly as possible. An interim distribution allows them to get the bulk of the estate out the door while holding onto enough to pay taxes and final expenses.
The executors who hang onto every cent of the estate until the Clearance Certificate is received are within their rights to do so, but often there is no practical reason to refuse to make an interim distribution. And that just annoys people.
Part of the problem, and I hate to say this as I'm a lawyer myself, is that lawyers will take on estate work when they are not familiar enough with it. When I did estate litigation I hated getting a "dabbler" on the other side who didn't have a deep enough understanding of the law. I should mention here that I have no idea who the lawyer was in charge of this estate so I don't know that it was a "dabbler". I throw my comment out there as a general observation.
Clearance Certificates do take forever to receive, and as they are generated federally, the wait time should be the same everywhere in Canada. Six months seems about average to me.
A 64-page report is going to be a pain to digest, but it beats the heck out of getting absolutely no information at all.
Hopefully the estate will wind up soon and you can all move on.
Lynne
When can an executor be reimbursed for expenses.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your question about when an executor can be reimbursed. I'm going to answer this in a new blog post dated Feb. 18, 2012.
ReplyDeleteLynne
Lynne
DeleteThank you for your response. This estate has gone on since 2009 (due to a pending civil action with a contractor) and I have not taken anything for reimburement to this point. I have flights, hotel, car rental, mileage etc. and it is becoming a stain financially on me.
Informative site-thank you. My father was and executor of his cousins will. My father completed most of the work up til probate when he got ill and had to hand it over to the alternate executor. His out of pocket expenses (and mine as I had to drive him to Sask and back to Calgary to do some estate clean up etc) have not been paid. When we sent the receipts to the alternate she said that she has to clear payment with the benefactors (my father was not a benefactor). His costs have run up to several thousand dollars due to the estate being out of province. Is it me....or is there something wrong here?
ReplyDeleteThank you!
RP
The general rule is that executors are to be indemnified for their expenses incurred in administering an estate, so long as those expenses are reasonable. This does not require the consent of the beneficiaries.
DeleteLynne