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ARTICLE · 17 OCTOBER 2019

Charging Off: When Executors' Fees Are Disallowed

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A recent decision saw an executor, who sought to charge £27,000 for administering an estate valued for probate at £1.9m, denied any recompense. It is an extreme, yet salutary, lesson that ...

United KingdomFamily and Matrimonial
Paul Hewitt
Paul Hewitt
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A recent decision saw an executor, who sought to charge £27,000 for administering an estate valued for probate at £1.9m, denied any recompense. It is an extreme, yet salutary, lesson that agreements about charging should be clearly documented from the outset.

Background

Charalambos Gavriel died in May 2016. He appointed Hope Davis as his executrix and left his estate to his two sons, Nicholas and Tryfon.

Most wills contain provision for a professional executor to charge fees. Some wills allow a lay executor to charge a reasonable fee to compensate for time. What is ‘reasonable’ can often be a cause of dispute.

However, Charalambos’ will did not contain a charging clause.

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