Probate & Trust settlement Costs
Costs in probate and trust settlement matters are typically paid by the estate or trust. They include court fees, costs of maintaining and selling real estate, and attorney’s fees.
The wide variety of probate and trust settlement matters means the attorney’s fees involved can also vary widely. Factors that influence the final attorney’s fee include:
The number of beneficiaries involved.
In probates, the number of heirs at law the decedent had. (Heirs are law are the decedent’s closest living family members by blood.)
Whether the decedent left an estate plan, and if so, how complex the decedent’s will or trust is.
How simple the decedent’s assets are. Complex assets include multiple real estate holdings, real estate in multiple states, businesses, and individually held stock.
Whether the settlement work calls for probate or a trust settlement (or both).
Whether the beneficiaries object to anything the administrator does.
Whether any claims are filed, and if so, whether any dispute arises regarding a claim.
How diligent the administrator is in moving projects along and communicating with us.
Whether we assist in selling real estate by owner or transferring it to a beneficiary.
How long the administrator takes to settle the estate.
Fee Structure
Our fees in probate and trust settlement are hourly. However, if the personal representative or trustee is very familiar with the decedent’s affairs and the settlement plan is straightforward, we can provide a budget.
If there are large gaps in our knowledge and in the plan, we can still provide an estimate of likely costs for the work we know will be necessary, and a range for work that may or may not be necessary.
Fee Ranges
The cost of our settlement work varies much more widely than the cost of our estate planning work. We have settled simple estates for less than $5,000, and have settled extremely complicated estates for over ten times that amount.
However, in our experience, our fees for most estates and trust settlements fall in a range between $5,000 and $15,000, with a few outliers on either side. The low end of that range is common when the estate assets are straightforward and the administrator is diligent in moving the settlement forward.
Getting Started
Publishing fees is part of our commitment to transparency and clarity in all of our work. To get started, call our office to schedule your consultation. We look forward to working with you.