So tell me about wills.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Locke

My understanding is that the going rate is about 10%, although, in my opinion that seems rather high.

But then again, being an Estate executor has to be one of the worst jobs on Earth.

And thats coming from a Tax Accountant.

Well no kidding, not like any of my dead relatives are leaving me a helicopter

[Locke]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

Well no kidding, not like any of my dead relatives are leaving me a helicopter

I ain't leavin' anybody nuthin'! When its my time I'm going to load all my stuff in my Helicopter and head for the Mountains!

We'll hit and they'll never find my remains!

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by Locke

My understanding is that the going rate is about 10%, although, in my opinion that seems rather high.

But then again, being an Estate executor has to be one of the worst jobs on Earth.

And thats coming from a Tax Accountant.

Jesus. That's a lot. I was thinking a hundred bucks.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by fotze2

Jesus. That's a lot. I was thinking a hundred bucks.

How far along are you and how many beneficiaries are you dealing with?

Sometimes its easy, but I have seen some amazing nightmare scenarios that some people wouldnt believe.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Cappy

How common is it for the executor to take the Executor Fee from estates? what is a fairly common take?

Hell yeah I'm taking that cut. I have a brother that hasn't lifted a finger while I've spent a lot of time at banks, downtown, getting the house cleaned out, painted, repaired, and ready for sale. Hell I was the only sibling that actually visited, her and invited her to holiday gatherings in the first place. It would suck to take home the same amount of money after doing all this work than a sibling that hasn't done a thing to help.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Cappy

How common is it for the executor to take the Executor Fee from estates? what is a fairly common take?

Working on my mom's right now. I'm taking 3%. No way in fk I'm doing this BS for free. It's the worst.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Hell yeah I'm taking that cut. I have a brother that hasn't lifted a finger while I've spent a lot of time at banks, downtown, getting the house cleaned out, painted, repaired, and ready for sale. Hell I was the only sibling that actually visited, her and invited her to holiday gatherings in the first place. It would suck to take home the same amount of money after doing all this work than a sibling that hasn't done a thing to help.

I went low end of the 3-5% rule of thumb based on the situation in my family. I feel I'm low-balling myself somewhat, but there is a side of me that's helping out from the goodness of my heart since I'm the only one competent enough to do it.

In your shoes? I'd be at 5% for sure.

[Fuzz]

Is it worth tracking your hours so when you get push back you can point out you made $6.37/hour for all the work required?

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Is it worth tracking your hours so when you get push back you can point out you made $6.37/hour for all the work required?

No, you don't need to.

I did track my hours for clearing out the house and fixing it up to get ready for sale, though. Sixty-five hours and I charged myself out at $50/hour. That's over and above the executor's fee, though. I could have paid professionals to do all the work required in the house and it would have been way more than $3250, so the estate got a bargain and I was able to list the house and get it sold months ahead of schedule, which saved the estate even more. If anybody wants to fight me on that, come at me, bro.

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by Slava

Super common because it's a huge amount of work! It's not just something that you throw together in an hour or a quick afternoon.

do other beneficiaries fight them on it?

My dad is the Executor of my Grandpa's will. Not an insignificant amount of money and all his kids will be chomping at the bit (ungrateful, entitled boomers!). He doesnt need the money and i assume they would push back on it. Truth be told, i will likely end up doing alot of the leg work behind the scenes as my dad will have tons of questions, so ill be asking for a percentage lol.

This topic actually just reminded me:

My dad is my grandpas executor as above. about two years ago, my Gpa sent my dad a letter via mail. It says do not open it until i die.

It is not his will and my dad suspects its something to do with his will or his estate at least.

I told him to open the letter. Better yet, do it in front of a lawyer and maybe do a stat dec. There is no good that can come from this and if it needs to be added to the will or needs to be confirmed, its best to do it when he is actually alive.

Is there any good way to do this?

[Geraldsh]

I would open it in private. If he didn’t want me to know the contents until after his death he should have left it with the will. Opening it now may mitigate a distressful situation at time of death.

[Sliver]

I like the idea of having a lawyer present. I'd film the opening of the letter, too.

I wouldn't leave it up to some geriatric's judgement to send you a letter with potentially actionable items that could cause trouble for you, the estate and the family at large. Sounds like a total hassle.

Hopefully the letter will just be some, 'you were always my favourite...look out for your little brother' kinda thing. If it's stuff that would run counter to the will/POA/any official document I'd be tempted to burn it (with the lawyer's thumbs up) to not have to deal with whatever that could trigger.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I went low end of the 3-5% rule of thumb based on the situation in my family. I feel I'm low-balling myself somewhat, but there is a side of me that's helping out from the goodness of my heart since I'm the only one competent enough to do it.

In your shoes? I'd be at 5% for sure.

If the Court had to approve a formal accounting, 3% would be standard, 4% would be for a difficult and complex estate, 5% if there was a litigation component.

https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/laws/re...-130-1995.html

Factors to be considered

2 The following factors are relevant when determining the compensation charged by or allowed to personal representatives:

(a) the gross value of the estate;

(b) the amount of revenue receipts and disbursements;

(c) the complexity of the work involved and whether any difficult or unusual questions were raised;

(d) the amount of skill, labour, responsibility, technological support and specialized knowledge required;

(e) the time expended;

(f) the number and complexity of tasks delegated to others;

(g) the number of personal representatives appointed in the will, if any.

Additional compensation

3 Additional compensation may be allowed when personal representatives

(a) are called upon to perform additional roles in order to administer the estate, such as exercising the powers of a manager or director of a company or business,

(b) encounter unusual difficulties or situations, or

(c) must instruct on litigation.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by troutman

If the Court had to approve a formal accounting, 3% would be standard, 4% would be for a difficult and complex estate, 5% if there was a litigation component.

Next time I update my will I'm going to specify 3% for the Executor/Executrix. I find - as an Executor a few times now - that the vague language around compensation gets a bit annoying. I can see why based on your breakdown, but I think a specific percentage detailed in the Will would remove any vagueness or potential animosity towards the Executor.

[firebug]

Originally Posted by fotze2

It's not really work. Just waiting forever and attending meetings to sign stuff.

But what could I gouge my brother on this?

I'm sure your Certified Executor Advisor touched upon this with you ;-)

The issue to be clear on is that executor's fees are taxable income and if the executor has a significant share of the estate's they end up trading tax free inheritance and turning it into taxable income. Best to talk to your tax advisor to see if it makes sense.

Now if the other beneficiaries decide to give the executor a really nice birthday present... well that is awfully thoughtful of them.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by firebug

I'm sure your Certified Executor Advisor touched upon this with you ;-)

The issue to be clear on is that executor's fees are taxable income and if the executor has a significant share of the estate's they end up trading tax free inheritance and turning it into taxable income. Best to talk to your tax advisor to see if it makes sense.

Now if the other beneficiaries decide to give the executor a really nice birthday present... well that is awfully thoughtful of them.

That's very interesting.

I'm the executor of my (still living) parents' wills. There is a fee specified in the will. Am I allowed to waive that?

It seems like a situation where say $30,000 fee might be better divided 3 ways as residual with an understanding that the other two gift me $7500 each later or something like that.

[firebug]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

That's very interesting.

I'm the executor of my (still living) parents' wills. There is a fee specified in the will. Am I allowed to waive that?

It seems like a situation where say $30,000 fee might be better divided 3 ways as residual with an understanding that the other two gift me $7500 each later or something like that.

You cannot be forced to take the fee if you don't want it.

You also cannot compel the beneficiaries to gift you anything either. You'd be wise to contact your tax advisor to discuss if planning with the beneficiaries to give you a gift rather than taking compensation for your efforts would result in making the gifts taxable.

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by firebug

I'm sure your Certified Executor Advisor touched upon this with you ;-)

The issue to be clear on is that executor's fees are taxable income and if the executor has a significant share of the estate's they end up trading tax free inheritance and turning it into taxable income. Best to talk to your tax advisor to see if it makes sense.

Now if the other beneficiaries decide to give the executor a really nice birthday present... well that is awfully thoughtful of them.

My advisor sounded like he didn't know what he was talking about, so I didn't listen to his ramblings.

That does sounds like a lot of work, I'll just not charge anything to my bro, he's busy making the next Avengers movie in New Zealand. He'd help if he was here. haha

[Fuzzy14]

How much to set as compensation for an executor will vary from estate to estate. Some estates have high dollar values but are fairly straightforward to complete. Other times, the opposite is true. In some cases, a % is a fair compromise, and in others a fixed dollar amount makes more sense.

A good estate planning lawyer will discuss relevant factors, as outlined in the info provided by Troutman above, to help you come up with what is fair compensation.

Regarding the question of executor fees as taxable income, the Ontario Bar Association circulated a useful bulletin on this question a few years ago:

https://www.oba.org/Sections/Taxatio...-Se?lang=fr-ca