Is it unusual for a solicitor to be sole executor?

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emeralds

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A family member died a few weeks ago. He appointed his solicitor to be sole executor of his will..Is this unusual?
 
Not really.

Some people take the view that the solicitor must have forced this situation.

Others take the view that it may well have been precisely what the deceased wanted.

Take your pick.

mf
 
I suppose we will never know the reason! I guess we feel completely powerless when it comes to negotiating his fees...
 
You kinda are. I don't mean to appear to be callous, but what the solicitor gets paid has nothing to do with you. That fee would have been agreed upon between the solicitor and your relative when the Will was first drawn up. It will be deducted from the assets of the estate before they are dispersed to the beneficiaries of the Will. When a solicitor is an executor of a Will, family members or beneficiaries of the Will would not normally be in a position to dictate to the solicitor what he gets paid.

These days, it wouldn't be the norm for a solicitor to be the executor of an estate, but it is not unheard of. My aunt has has appointed the family solicitor as the Executor of her estate, even though she knows his fee will put a dent in what her kids will inheirit. She figures it is worth it to stop the skin and hair flying between her kids when she dies, and one of them is appointed Executor.
 
My dad died last year and two of my siblings were executors. It was all fairly straightforward, one house to sell (which sold very quickly for a good price), and the proceeds divvied up between us. It will be the same situation this time round...I am presuming that even though we have no choice in the matter, he is still obliged to furnish us with his fee schedule...
 
emeralds said:
My dad died last year and two of my siblings were executors. It was all fairly straightforward, one house to sell (which sold very quickly for a good price), and the proceeds divvied up between us. It will be the same situation this time round...I am presuming that even though we have no choice in the matter, he is still obliged to furnish us with his fee schedule...
Click to expand...

Presumably only if you are a beneficiary and also only at the end of the process on disbursement of funds.
 
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