Estate Law

Estate law questions? Ask an estate lawyer.

Connect one-on-one with {0} who will answer your question

Can you tell me anything about the fee schedules in Massachusetts…

Customer Question

Can you tell me anything...

Can you tell me anything about the fee schedules in Massachusetts for administering a trust? The will was set up by my great aunt as a trust to care for my mother. It is being handled by a law firm and Bank of America. The fees paid to both seem high and I would like to know if there is a set fee that they should be collecting? Thanks for your help.

Submitted: 7 years ago.Category: Estate Law

Show Less

Ask Your Own Estate Law Question

Answered in 28 minutes by:

5/30/2012

Estate Lawyer: Law Educator, Esq., Attorney replied 7 years ago

Law Educator, Esq., Attorney

Category: Estate Law

Satisfied Customers: 140,690

Experience: Experienced in Trust and Succession Law, including Louisiana Laws

Verified

I am afraid that there is no law in MA setting trustee fees or executor fees. The fees are set in accordance with the terms of the trust or in the absence of a term in the trust, in accordance with the trustee contract with the bank and attorneys. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts set out some factors to be considered, including the size of the estate, time spent working on the estate, and the skill and ability of the fiduciary. See: McMahon v. Krapf, 323 Mass. 118 (1948). Also, in Corcoran v. Thomas, 6 Mass. App. Ct. 1990 (1978), an appellate court held that “[t]he only rule of law is that the fiduciary is to receive just and reasonable compensation for all services performed in his trust.”

The average fee is roughly 1%-5% of the corpus of the trust, but it depends on the actual value of the trust. The beneficiaries who disagree with administration fees may seek to go to court to have them reduced.

I hope you found my answer helpful, but please understand that if you did not get all of the information you may have wanted to use the REPLY button and we are happy to continue working with you.

If you have additional questions, please keep in mind that I do not know what you already know or don't know, or with what you need help, unless you tell me. Please consider that I am answering the question or question that is posed in your posting based upon my reading of your post and sometimes misunderstandings can occur. If I did not answer the question you thought you were asking, please respond with the specific question you wanted answered.

Also remember, sometimes the law does not support what we want it to support, but that is not the fault of the person answering the question, so please be courteous.

PLEASE NOTE WELL, LEGAL ANSWERS TAKE MORE THAN “MINUTES” TO PUT TOGETHER AS WE ARE DEALING WITH LAWS OF 50 STATES PLUS FEDERAL LAWS, AS WELL AS DEALING WITH OTHER CUSTOMERS, SO PLEASE BE PATIENT IT WILL BE MORE THAN “MINUTES” IN SOME CASES BEFORE YOU GET A RESPONSE, BUT BE ASSURED YOU ARE NOT BEING IGNORED.

There can also be a delay of an hour or more in between my answers because I may be helping other customers or taking a break.

You can always request me through my profile at http://www.justanswer.com/law/expert-paulmjd/ or beginning your question with “For PaulMJD…”

Customer reply replied 7 years ago

My mother, whom the trust was set up for has end stage dementia and unable to provide any personal care, nor does she communicate or recognize anyone. She has been in skilled care for the last 5 years and my father, age 84, has been trying to maintain the paperwork of this trust eventhough, the BOA trust branch and a law firm are the administrators. The trust is about depleted and BOA has asked my mother to sign off on it and accept all that was done as is. I came into the paperwork as her POA and my father's, now admitted, inability to understand what needs to be done. I have taken all the paperwork and statements I can find to a trust lawyer in Virginia to review and the only real smoking gun he found were the fees charged by BOA. The other issue that stood out to me was the continued reinvestment in the failing stock market instead of conservative investments as they were very aware of my mother's failing health. Interestingly the investments were related to BOA so essentially investing into themselves.

I know to fight them would mean hiring a probate lawyer in Massachusetts and spending time in Massachusetts court to fight them. Also, the trust is set up so if I challenge them I (the trust) must pay their lawyer fees. BOA is so big that I am very intimidated by just the name but also hate to see them win on that alone if they have in fact misrepresented the trust. I hope this provides some clarity and not confusion. I just don't know if I should sign off as job well done or fight them to make them accountable for errors. One such error is they continued to pay the named administrator of the trust even though he had been dead for 2 years.

Estate Lawyer: Law Educator, Esq., Attorney replied 7 years ago

You need a trust attorney in MA, not in VA. The VA trust attorney will only tell you to find a MA attorney, which you can do at the same sites used by other attorneys, http://www.martindale.com or http://www.lexmundi.com

They will have to review the trust document and also the trustee contract with the attorney and BoA to determine if the fees were reasonable in accordance with the case law and if not they can challenge the charges and take the trustees to court if necessary.

Customer reply replied 7 years ago

He did advise me to do that but I am having a hard time evaluating the cost of doing this versus the return on the investment. Is it possible to beat a company that big or will they just keep me running to Massachusetts with no resolution. I am not sure how overwhelmed the court system is there but in Virginia they are way behind.

What is the best way to find a reliable, honest, reasonably priced attorney in Massachusetts? Do you have anyone you are allowed to recommend?

Estate Lawyer: Law Educator, Esq., Attorney replied 7 years ago

The site rules forbid us from making personal referrals, the two sites I gave you above are the same sites used by other attorneys as the attorneys on the site are peer reviewed.

Without seeing the financial records, knowing the return on investment of pursuing this is impossible, but it is at least worth paying the MA lawyer to review the trust and the trustee charges to determine if there is anything worthy of pursuing and they will charge you roughly $250 an hour for that, but you would know then before spending more in a lawsuit if it is worth it.

Law Educator, Esq., Attorney

Category: Estate Law

Satisfied Customers: 140,690

Experience: Experienced in Trust and Succession Law, including Louisiana Laws

Verified

Law Educator, Esq. and 87 other Estate Law Specialists are ready to help you

Ask your own question now

Was this answer helpful?

Yes

How JustAnswer works

Describe your issueThe assistant will guide you

Chat 1:1 with an estate lawyerLicensed Experts are available 24/7

100% satisfaction guaranteeGet all the answers you need

Related Estate Law Questions

I have another question. This one is a little more

Hi There, I have another question. This one is a little more complicated and may require a phone call.My father, who died in August, was a beneficiary in his aunt's trust. She died in January. She lef… read more

Barrister

Attorney

Doctoral Degree

6,741 satisfied customers

I live in a New York county adjacent to the county where my

I live in a New York county adjacent to the county where my great aunt died. Her nephew and grand nephew live far away in other states. As I am local, I wonder if I could navigate the surrogate's cour… read more

Irwin Law

Juris Doctor JD

7,584 satisfied customers

I and my 5 siblings are remaindermen beneficiaries of 3 trusts

I and my 5 siblings are remaindermen beneficiaries of 3 trusts established by my grand aunt, grandmother and grandfather. All 3 trusts had the same income beneficiaries, my mother and my aunt. The tru… read more

Law Educator, Esq.

Attorney

140,690 satisfied customers

My grandmother set up a trust to be divided among her 6 grandchildren

My grandmother set up a trust to be divided among her 6 grandchildren upon the death of my mother. The trust had been set up so that my mother would receive money on a monthly basis to help pay her ex… read more

Richard

Owner

Doctoral Degree

53,741 satisfied customers

Aloha, My grandparents passed away in the 1980s. They had

Aloha, My grandparents passed away in the 1980's. They had 3 children. My mom and her sister, plus my uncle. Both my mother and my aunt passed away prior to my grandparents passing. My brother, sister… read more

DamienJD

Attorney

Doctoral Degree

11,093 satisfied customers

My family is in the process of dissolving a trust fund of less

My family is in the process of dissolving a trust fund of less than 500k which was setup in Massachusetts. The bank which administers the trust tells us there will be a fee of 2% of the fund to accomp… read more

Irwin Law

Juris Doctor JD

7,584 satisfied customers

My aunt left me an irrevocable trust that stipulates that I

My aunt left me an irrevocable trust that stipulates that I am only entitled to 20% of the trust annually. .The trust is handled thru US bank and I am being charged $300 per month for handling the est… read more

Thomas McJD

Attorney

Doctoral Degree

3,170 satisfied customers

Do I have sufficient documentation to prove my rightful claim

Do I have sufficient documentation to prove my rightful claim to the mineral rights and property currently held by my aunt? Prior to my mothers passing Dec. 13, 2011 she had entrusted her sister my au… read more

Irwin Law

Juris Doctor JD

7,584 satisfied customers

I am in Massachusetts, 3 and a half years ago I paid to have

I am in Massachusetts, 3 and a half years ago I paid to have an irrevocable trust set up for my Aunt's house. It seems the attorney set up the trust just fine but did not transfer the house into it at… read more

Daniel Solutions

Doctoral Degree

5,212 satisfied customers

I am administering my aunts very small estate, per her wishes.

I am administering my aunt's very small estate, per her wishes. She died intestate and is is survived by a Daughter who has five children AND by a Granddaughter whose father (the deceased's son) died … read more

dkennedy

Attorney

Juris Doctorate

3,122 satisfied customers

I have been the executor for a great aunts estate since 1996.

I have been the executor for a great aunt's estate since 1996. When she passed away her will stated that her money was to be placed in CD's and the interest each month given to my brother and mother. … read more

Loren

42,458 satisfied customers

My grandmother passed away 3 years ago in Ny at the age of

My grandmother passed away 3 years ago in Ny at the age of 94 while in my mother's care. There is one other surviving child, three dead ones, and multiple grand/great grand children. The estate is min… read more

John Legal

Doctoral Degree

3,418 satisfied customers

I am unsure if I will owe any US federal estate tax this year. When

I am unsure if I will owe any US federal estate tax this year. When my Grandmother passed away in 1973 she left money in a trust fund to my Mother and my Mothers sister. The trust fund was managed by … read more

Irwin Law

Juris Doctor JD

7,584 satisfied customers

11/10/10 I have questions about a revocable trust that

11/10/10 I have questions about a revocable trust that has been recently set up for my Aunt. This story begins five years ago. My reclusive 93 year old Aunt called me and told me she wanted to name me… read more

Daniel P.

Managing Attorney

Juris Doctor

2,741 satisfied customers

how much ism the fee of a trustee of a trust in michigan. how

how much ism the fee of a trustee of a trust in michigan. how broad dare the powers of that trustee how fast should the primary beneficiary be dispersed to… read more

Loren

42,458 satisfied customers

My uncle passed away last year. My mothers sisters decided

My uncle passed away last year. My mother's sisters decided to have my Uncle David (mother's brother) sign a will (excluding mother because she is in a nursing home and on medicaid) within the last ye… read more

Legalease

Attorney At Law

Doctor of Law w/ highest honors

15,719 satisfied customers

Hi, My aunt recently passed in the state of CA and had a

Hi, My aunt recently passed in the state of CA and had a trust. Her estate is approximately $600,000. She had a friend as co-trustee and myself. I live in PA and she explained to me that because I was… read more

INFOLAWYER

Partner

Doctoral Degree

72,500 satisfied customers

I am the main beneficiary of my Aunts Estate. The Trust has

Hello, I am the main beneficiary of my Aunts Estate. The Trust has been handled this past year (nov 1st 08-present day) by a distant relative. All assests have been paid out to the listed beneficiarie… read more

Phillips Esq.

Attorney

24,709 satisfied customers

DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on JustAnswer ar Show More

DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on JustAnswer are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. JustAnswer is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Expert above is not your attorney, and the response above is not legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains.

The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).

JustAnswer in the News:

What Customers are Saying:

My husband has been driving me insane with questions regarding estate issues since his mother died. I'm not a lawyer! Thanks to JustAnswer, I was able to calm his concerns.
Loretta TIllinois

Thanks Adam!! - A very direct and understandable response - you have been a great help!
Happy CustomerEllicott City, MD

Mr. Kaplun clearly had an exceptional understanding of the issue and was able to explain it concisely. I would recommend JustAnswer to anyone. Great service that lives up to its promises!
Gary B.Edmond, OK

My Expert was fast and seemed to have the answer to my taser question at the tips of her fingers. Communication was excellent. I left feeling confident in her answer.
EricRedwood City, CA

I am very pleased with JustAnswer as a place to go for divorce or criminal law knowledge and insight.
MichaelWichita, KS

PaulMJD helped me with questions I had regarding an urgent legal matter. His answers were excellent.
Three H.Houston, TX

Anne was extremely helpful. Her information put me in the right direction for action that kept me legal, possible saving me a ton of money in the future. Thank you again, Anne!!
ElaineAtlanta, GA

< Previous | Next >

Meet the Experts:

Thomas McJD

Attorney

3,170 satisfied customers

Wills, Trusts, Probate & other Estate Matters

Barrister

Attorney

6,741 satisfied customers

19 yrs estate law, real estate. Wills/Trusts/Probate

RayAnswers

Attorney

6,613 satisfied customers

Texas lawyer for 30 years in Estate law

Ely

Counselor at Law

1,867 satisfied customers

Fully licensed attorney in Texas in private practice.

RobertJDFL

Attorney

1,618 satisfied customers

Experienced in multiple areas of the law.

P. Simmons

Attorney

1,335 satisfied customers

12+ yrs. of experience including estate law.

ScottyMacEsq

Attorney

1,334 satisfied customers

Licensed Texas General Practice Attorney

< Previous | Next >

Show MoreShow Less