Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois
My father past away 2 years ago in cook county Il with a trust that held about $650000 not including two properties that were both close to being underwater. He left his lawyer as the trustee and in the first 7 months he had paid himself $34000. After that he started to charge $500 a month in a management fee. We had to let the homes go back to the banks cause we couldnt sell them. I asked him to provide me with the way he was charging the trust and his reply was he is charging the same way jp morgan chase would. does this sound reasonable or not? He also charge a flat fee of 10000 for attorneys cost. It sounds crazy to me.
2 Answers from Attorneys
If you are a beneficiary of the trust, you have a right to a copy of the trust and
accounting reports of trust balances and transactions. Whether his charges are
reasonable depend on the terms of the trust and the nature of his duties and
responsibilities as trustee. If he performed considerable work in the disposal
of the real estate, his charges may be reasonable. If he merely is trustee of
funds invested in securities, his fees may be excessive. You could discuss
the matter with another attorney to consider options for removal of him as
trustee, objection to excess fees, etc.
You're throwing around a lot of numbers. It's difficult to assess whether the fees are reasonable without full context, but if you're a beneficiary then you are certainly entitled to a full accounting and explanation of fees.
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