How much to pay estate executor
My mother recently passed away. I have two brothers and one of them (youngest)is the executor. My mom had a trust set up but failed to include savings,CD’s and checking accounts in the trust( none of us knew until now). My brother has been closing out all other bank accounts,CDs,etc . He seems to be on top of everything and we know my mother wanted him to be compensated for his efforts. Is there a formula we could use since we live in Illinois and have no idea what would be fair. My husband thinks we should wait until probate clears and everything is distributed. Makes sense but how much?
Terry Says
You’re right — being an executor is complicated, and takes more work than is obvious.
Read this: https://www.estateexec.com/Docs/Guide/IL
Fees generally range from 2-4% of the estate value — But here’s a specific guide:
https://learning-center.wills.com/executor-fees-by-state/
Again, it all depends on the work done. If you and your siblings arranged the funeral, moved stuff our of the house, paid for the flowers, etc — then the fees would be lower.
But I’m glad you asked the question, since so many families never think about those issues.
