A neighbor's mother passed a couple days ago and they have a daughter in law as their executor. They asked me about how they would pay her but I really have no idea. It's not a complex estate; a house and a life insurers policy and some 401k money. Total worth approximately 2 million.

Thanks.

Really depends on which member of the family you're trying to execute…

Mother in laws are usually the cheapest I hear

Why would you pay an executor?

They should be reimbursed for expenses

If they feel they have to pay, they could set it up as a flat, hourly, or percentage payment out of the estate. A lot of close family executors, though, often forego payment or only take money to cover expenses, especially if they're a primary beneficiary of the estate. For example, I think I'm listed as my parents' executor, and I'm not going to insist on a fee.

My husband is the current executor of his brothers estate. He died unexpectedly last June and wasn't worth a ton.
From my understanding the attorney and members of the family get to decide how much to pay. We talked about it briefly but I don't think it we are going to ask for payment. But we talked about $25 an hour or 3% of total estate.
Granted, this is in MI, where they don't have set amounts

Both my husband and I worked on various aspects of the estate and I will say it was a lot of hours spent, along with the attorney.

Bondag said:

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They should be reimbursed for expenses

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we were also reimbursed for all expenses, which for us totaled about $10,000 between funeral costs, house and car, etc payments

She gets to keep the airline miles. Or $5,000. That's if she sets the schedule and meets deadlines. Or do it all in front of the family at Thanksgiving while she is hosting. That way it is more entertaining for us if you keep us informed.

+500 if the house is a ranchito in BFE that no one else will take care of but also everyone refuses to sell.

My sister & I are co-executors of our mom's estate. There are other siblings out of state. When she passes neither my sister or I will take any money for being executor. Obviously being reimbursed for any expenses is different. But I wouldn't fathom taking money for doing that for a family member.

A female executor was historically called an executrix. They should have kept that.

Know Your Enemy said:

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My sister & I are co-executors of our mom's estate. There are other siblings out of state. When she passes neither my sister or I will take any money for being executor. Obviously being reimbursed for any expenses is different. But I wouldn't fathom taking money for doing that for a family member.

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we never even thought of this as a possibility until the attorney brought it up. It is a LOT of work.

I probably wouldn't charge anything to be an executor. I love to enact justice, so as long as I get to choose my method of execution I'd do it for the good of society.

Being the executor of an estate can be a lot of work and can be a PITA. As the wife of an executor, I had to arrange an estate sale that included the contents of two houses, plan two funerals, deal with obtaining lost titles to vehicles, pay bills, clean out storage units full of almost literal garbage (stuff meaningful to no one buy the deceased), prepare lists of assets for attorneys, etc. This is the stuff that ended up on my plate. Other people had to sell vehicles, sell houses, etc. we tried to all pitch in to get things done. But if ONE person is the executor they should be compensated for the amount of time they spend disposing of/managing the estate. Especially if they do not benefit from the estate.

Tatem said:

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Know Your Enemy said:

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My sister & I are co-executors of our mom's estate. There are other siblings out of state. When she passes neither my sister or I will take any money for being executor. Obviously being reimbursed for any expenses is different. But I wouldn't fathom taking money for doing that for a family member.

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we never even thought of this as a possibility until the attorney brought it up. It is a LOT of work.

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So was raising my siblings and me. Maybe if I ended up as an executor for a non-family member I'd consider it.

Know Your Enemy said:

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Tatem said:

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Know Your Enemy said:

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My sister & I are co-executors of our mom's estate. There are other siblings out of state. When she passes neither my sister or I will take any money for being executor. Obviously being reimbursed for any expenses is different. But I wouldn't fathom taking money for doing that for a family member.

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we never even thought of this as a possibility until the attorney brought it up. It is a LOT of work.

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So was raising my siblings and me. Maybe if I ended up as an executor for a non-family member I'd consider it.

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well my brother-in-law didn't raise my husband. and like i said earlier, we declined

Seven Costanza said:

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A female executor was historically called an executrix. They should have kept that.

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They still do in Texas. And it some estates they appoint Administrators and Administrixs

not hedge said:

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Why would you pay an executor?

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So they don't steal $400k of what's lawfully yours. Hope this helps.

When people are not "properly" compensated they sometimes steal because they believe they are "owed" it as compensation. This happens with eldercare. People don't see it as stealing.,, they believe they deserve it for all of their work.

I mean some people will steal without a "reason".

Exactly. And frankly, being an executor is WORK. Even if it's a simple estate. People deserve to be compensated for their time, even if they benefit from the estate. Choosing not to accept it is their right, but the offer ought to exist no matter what.

My brother was the executor of my father's estate (which rolled over to my mother), my mother's estate, and the estate of an older brother. In the case of my mother and brother, he was entitled to 3% for each estate. He never took a dime, other than expenses he incurred in administering the estates.

I am the executor for my parents. Both are still alive so thankfully won't have to do anything for a while.

As for payment, it was told to me by my Mom that I should take 10% off the top for having to do the work of the executer, then split the rest 50/50 with my Sister. No one outside of us gets anything unless I say so (her words).

While I'm sure she would want to leave stuff with her side of the family, I don't think she can stomach having to give anything to my Dad's side.

I'm the executor of my best friend's will and it explicitly precludes payment for services because I am a beneficiary.

TecRecAg said:

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As for payment, it was told to me by my Mom that I should take 10% off the top for having to do the work of the executer, then split the rest 50/50 with my Sister. No one outside of us gets anything unless I say so (her words).

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My hope is that "her words" have been documented in the form of a will and via the POD beneficiaries named in her financial accounts.

All I ever expected and received was my mileage, but I was 320 miles from where lots of the action needed to be done.

The Will likely gives a very specific answer to this question.

I have been executor of estates of three family members...three states. One took lots of time. I did not charge anything. As I recall, 5 percent was considered reasonable. Perhaps a lawyer can post an answer.

It is a lot of work. I was executor for my parent's estate. I lived about 6 hrs away and had to make a few trips and would compensate myself for gas, but other than that, no fee. Mom had made it fairly simple for me though. She left about 40K in a checking account that I was able to use to pay all of the expenses. It adds up quickly too with funeral expenses, taxes (income and property), any utilities until the house is sold, etc. I'm glad my brothers and I are all really close. I can't imagine being executor in a contested will, or with bickering among family members.

Thankfully my mom has pre-paid all of her funeral costs and doesn't own anything significant anymore so there shouldn't be a ton to do. Of course now that I say that there's probably plenty of stuff I have no clue about that will require a lot of time & effort. Lol.

Just disposing of personal property is a big job.

She has none, really. My parents sold their house many years ago and moved into an apartment years before my dad died. She gave her car to my niece a few years ago. A lot of the collectible type stuff she's been giving away little by little and I think all of her jewelry is already earmarked as to who gets what. She basically only has furniture and clothing left at this point.

I was the Executor for the Trust of my Aunt and Uncle. Our lawyer said payment for the work done for the estate is very normal and typically a small percentage of the total value of the estate. Based on the value the lawyer said I should take $50k for the year and a half it took to finalize the estate. I ended up taking $15k for my efforts. I didn't feel right about taking more but thought the 15 was fair for the time and energy it took to close everything out.

Bout tree fiddy

If it's family, you don't pay a dime. They're going to steal 10% anyway.

Unless otherwise specified in the will, an executor can pay themselves 5% of the total financial transactions. This usually would only apply to property that is sold and not cash or stock accounts. The fee would be considered taxable income, so if the executor is also the sole beneficiary, it would be better to take no fee and inherit that amount instead.