Julie Jason: How are executors paid?

To continue our discussion of executors from last week, let’s talk about how executors are paid for what they do.

But, first, let’s review the executor’s job, as described by the New York City Bar (see tinyurl.com/2p8vhe6n):

• Locating and making an inventory of all your property and transferring it to the estate;

• Paying your bills and taxes;

• Collecting debts owed to the estate;

• Investing and managing your assets during the probate proceeding;

• Distributing your property to those who you chose to receive it at the end of the probate proceeding.

The executor continues until the job is done and the estate is officially closed by the probate court. “Estates may be closed when the executor has paid all debts, expenses and taxes... and has distributed all assets on hand,” according to the American Bar Association’s “Guidelines for Individual Executors & Trustees” (tinyurl.com/4tmfw4n2).

That can be a time-consuming process, depending on the size and complexity of the estate, and executors do get paid for their time and effort.

Some states set executor fees by statute. For example, New York’s “executor’s commission” is calculated based on the size of the probate estate using this formula, which is tied to “receiving and paying out” sums of money:

• First $100,000 is 5%;

• Next $200,000 is 4%;

• Next $700,000 is 3%;

• Next $4,000,000 is 2.5%;

• The remaining...

from News https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/julie-jason-how-are-executors-paid-17762991.php