Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: New York State Executor's Fee

These matters are best directed to the counsel assisting in the probate of the deceased's estate.

Re: New York State Executor's Fee

It would be improper for any attorney to provide you with legal advice without having first analyzed all of the facts and circumstances of your particular matter.

However, I will try to provide you with some information.

There is no simple answer to your question as to how the value of an estate is determined. The law, including New York and Federal estate tax law, dictate what the value of an estate is. There is a probate value and a taxable value. Furthermore, the court may have a role in determining certain values.

I would suggest that you consult with an attorney on this question because they must review all of the facts of your particular matter.

Once the vlaue is determined, commisisons may be payable as follows:

a) For receiving and paying out all sums of money not exceeding $ 100,000 at the rate of 5 percent.

(b) For receiving and paying out any additional sums not exceeding $ 200,000 at the rate of 4 percent.

(c) For receiving and paying out any additional sums not exceeding $ 700,000 at the rate of 3 percent.

(d) For receiving and paying out any additional sums not exceeding $ 4,000,000 at the rate of 2 1/2 percent.

(e) For receiving and paying out all sums above $ 5,000,000 at the rate of 2 percent.

I hope that this information has been helpful.

Re: New York State Executor's Fee

I concur with John, with some additional information. Only probate assets (those subject to the terms of the Will) are subject to the fee schedule. Assets which may be included in the estate, that pass by operation of law or registration title, do not qualify, even if they have to be included in an estate or inheritance tax return. Examples of non-probate assets include assets with joint registrations where there is a surviving joint owner, assets that have beneficiary designations (such as life insurance or retirement plan proceeds) if there are surviving beneficiaries, and assets that follow some specified outline of distribtuion (again like a pension plan which specifies an order of payout if no beneficiary is designated). John is correct that a court may be needed to help determine the asset's value, if no readily ascertainable value can be determined. This might include an interest in a closely-held business where there is no ready market to liquidate the asset and no buy-sell arrangement in place specifying a sale-purchase price. An asset like a residence or business real estate may have questionable value, best determined when it is sold. In some cases, an appraisal may need to be done to determine a value, and a court may require an appraisal, or several of them. Contact me directly is you have any further questions.