Executor Fees

In Kansas executor fees are the compensation that are paid out to a person who serves in the role of personal representative or executor on an estate. An executor is crucial for the administration of a deceased person’s estate since they will handle multiple tasks, inventories, paperwork, accounting and distribution for beneficiaries and creditors through this process. The rules related to the appoint of the executor are found in Kan. Stat. Ann. § 59-701. The selection of an executor is an important component of a person’s estate plan and this executor might find themselves in over their head without the support of an experienced Kansas executor fees lawyer after the deceased individual passes away. Estate administration might be more complicated than expected. In some cases, beneficiaries might challenge the fee charged by an executor claiming that the executor did not have appropriate accounting or was involved in things like self-dealing which violate their fiduciary responsibility to beneficiaries.

Understanding the Basics of Executor Fees in Kansas

When a person creates a will, they might stipulate exactly how the executor should be paid. There are variations from one state to another, allowing situations like this and to determine what happens in the event that a will does not include information about executor fees. Kansas claims only the executor fees need to be reasonable and that these are also subject to court review. Kan. Stat. Ann. § 59-1504

Detailing fee arrangements and the hours and time spent by the executor can help to decrease misunderstandings down the road that could delay the administration of the case. Executors are entitled to receive compensation for their work because it is often detailed and requires this level of personal responsibility.

In determining just and reasonable compensation in Kansas, as a Kansas executor fees lawyer can tell you, there are a number of different factors evaluated by the court. This includes the results obtained based on the size of the estate, any time limitations that the executor faced, the capabilities and individual experience of the person, compensation that was charged by executors in similar estate sizes and the overall nature of the work involved.

Common Approaches in Kansas

As an executor fees attorney in Kansas can tell you, the most common method for executor compensation is billing by the hour for services rendered. In other cases, an executor might also have set fees based on the overall value of the assets inside the estate. This means that an executor in Kansas might have an option to choose one or the other. Regardless of which approach you choose you need to be prepared to effectively justify this in court just in case any beneficiary argues that you might have been paid too much or disagrees with your just and reasonable compensation. You can justify your fee by detailing the amount of time spent, the hourly rate associated with that task, the kind of results obtained on behalf of the estate or beneficiaries and the nature of the task itself. If the estate is going through probate, an executor fee needs to be approved by the court even if the heirs and the executor have already come to agreement of their own, per Kansas Statutes Chapter 59, 17-17.

Because there are no hard and fast rules for how much an executor in Kansas should get paid, this can lead to confusion, conflicts, disputes and additional time spent handling these litigated matters. To minimize the possibility of facing these uphill battles, it is helpful for an executor to retain legal support as soon as possible from a dedicated executor fees attorney serving Kansas.