http://il.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19830927_0001158.IL.htm/qx

If you don’t have a Last Will and Testament when you die the court will appoint an executor or lawyer to open and close your estate. Your family will not have control.
There is a very good reason to hire me to be the executor of your loved one’s estate… I will not overcharge the estate and I do a better job than most attorney’s getting the estate opened and closed within the allotted time. Best of all, I do not charge astronomical fees and the family will be advised of my every move. Lawyers don’t care how the family feels about certain situations and often do not know what is going on with the opening and the closing of the estate. Admit it, lawyers are out to make the most money possible from their clients. I have a different philosophy. I will allow the family to grieve but also keep them involved with every step of the executor process from opening of the estate to the estate closing of the estate. Not one lawyer has time to do this.


What I would like to do is to change the way the executor process is handled? Family involvement in crucial to the opening and closing of the estate. When family is involved upfront and everyone is agreement, the estate is not tied up in the court for years. I can get the estate opened and closed and all parties involved will be happy.
Fees typically this is controlled by the actual will and it would set any executor compensation at a percentage of the estate gross value. But if it is silent, then under IL law, executors and attorneys representing executors are entitled to “reasonable compensation” for their services. (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 110 1/2, pars. 27-1, 27-2.) The decision as to what constitutes reasonable compensation is a matter peculiarly within the province and discretion of the trial court. (In re Estate of Thomson (1986), 139 Ill.App.3d 930, 94 Ill.Dec. 316, 487 N.E.2d 1193; In re Estate of Rumoro (1980), 90 Ill.App.3d 383, 45 Ill.Dec. 737, 413 N.E.2d 70.)


As the fees must be submitted to the probate court for approval, the beneficiaries have a right to object to those fees to the court. Generally, the executor will have to prove the number of hours worked on the estate matters and usually the customary hourly rate is between $200-$400 per hour or more (depending on complexity and experience of executor).


What is reasonable? Should the court determine what is reasonable or should the family determine what is reasonable? I am willing to work with the family to determine the fee. What lawyer do you know that will be willing to do that? I see so many families who are left with nothing after paying the lawyer fees to handle their loved ones affairs.