Payment for the Personal Representative of an Estate
Most of the time, the rewards for the services you perform for your family are not financial ones. Sometimes it is easy to doubt that there are any rewards at all. When you were young, your parents spat out disapproval at anything you did; you got the same response whether you tried to please them or intentionally got on their nerves. You make all the plans for family gatherings and cover most of the expenses; all your siblings have to do is show up at the airport at the appointed time. Sometimes they ask you to include their plus ones, spouses, children, in-laws, or some combination thereof, and you work your magic to accommodate them. When you do this, they barely notice, but when you don’t, they complain vociferously. Rich people pay employees to run errands and make travel plans for them; sometimes you think about how much money you would have if you got paid for all the unpaid labor you do for your family. One familial duty for which you are legally entitled to payment is acting as the personal representative of a deceased family member’s estate. Of course, your role as personal representative entails just as much work as all the tasks you don’t get paid for. For help understanding and performing your duties as the personal representative of the estate of a deceased family member, contact a Washington, D.C. probate lawyer.
Two Ways of Determining Compensation for the Personal Representative
You can get paid to act as personal representative of an estate, but not all personal representatives get the same compensation. If the testator of the will indicated how much payment the personal representative should receive, then the probate court simply follows the instructions in the will and pays you the amount listed, unless so much of the estate gets wiped out by debt repayment and taxes that there is not enough money left to pay you everything that the testator indicated.
If the will does not indicate compensation for the personal representative, or if the decedent died intestate, then the personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation. According to Maryland law, reasonable compensation means up to nine percent of an estate valued at $20,000, and up to 3.6 percent of an estate valued more than that. This is more compensation than personal representatives get in some other states.
Disputes Over Payment to the Personal Representative of an Estate
Since reasonable compensation is such a flexible concept, there is room for disagreement about how much the personal representative should get paid. If the heirs believe that the personal representative is paying himself or herself too much, they can bring the matter before the probate court and let the judge decide how much to pay the personal representative.
Contact Tobin O’Connor Concino P.C. About Getting Paid for Probate
A Washington, D.C. probate attorney can help you get reasonable compensation for your role as personal representative of an estate. Contact Tobin O’Connor Concino P.C. in Washington, D.C. or call 202-362-5900.
Source:
estateexec.com/Docs/executor-fee-calculator/MD
