Being named a Trustee is a heavy responsibility.
But professional help is available.
If you ever find yourself named to administer someone’s estate, you could be faced with a bewildering range of difficulties and expensive decisions.
Traditionally, these vary from the funeral arrangements to disposing of property, settlement of Federal and Provincial Income Tax, investments, RRSP’s, RRIF’s,
personal belongings…everything that has to be disposed of, according to the deceased’s Will. If the deceased has not left an itemized list, just locating key documents can pose a real problem.
If the deceased had a business or professional practice, the process becomes far more complicated, as you will have to deal with others with vested interests. You can find yourself swamped in a web of legal and financial…the list can seem endless. And the time involved.
Traditionally, The Fees Can Be Exorbitant
The main fees – executor, probate, legal and accounting – vary with the size and complexity of the estate. In general, the larger the estate, the higher the fees.
Example: Some provincial laws frequently allows fees up to 5% of the probate value of the estate. If this amounts to $250,000 (a relatively modest estate today), probate fees alone can be as high as $12,500!