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What should an executor get paid? Maybe another way to put it is how should an executor get
paid? And executors get paid a couple of different ways. One way that executors get paid is they
get left a certain amount in the will of the deceased. We have done wills where somebody
will say I leave my executor ten thousand dollars, but I don't want them to receive
any other compensation. That's one way to limit the amount of money an executor receives.
The problem with doing it that way is that if things get really complex, if things get
really crazy, the executor's going to get that ten thousand dollars and no more money.
And frankly they may quit being the executor. They don't have to serve. And you may end
up with a situation where the family has to go hire a trust company or a bank to serve
as executor at a lot more money than that ten thousand dollars you thought. Another
way executors get paid is by the hour. If you're an individual executor, we recommend
from the get-go that you keep track of the time that you've got. Talk to a lawyer in
your area and find out what reasonable compensation may be. Sometimes we have two levels of compensation
for our clients. We have one level if you're doing real executor stuff, and we have another
level if you're just kind of running around town trying to find paperwork. You get to
charge less if you're running around town looking for paperwork, you get to charge more
if you're really doing executor stuff--helping to manage the money, helping to actually pay
bills, and attorney conferences and things like that. The other way executors get paid
is a percentage of the estate. Some states provide laws that say executors are entitled
to be paid this much. Most states don't, some states do. Check with the law in your area.
If you're in a state that does not have a set amount, then you may be able to call a
bank trust company, you may go online, look and see what other trustees or other trust
companies charge, and you can charge maybe a commensurate amount, bearing in mind you
have less experience than they do, you probably ought to charge less.