Money!! Money!! Who Gets Paid What – and How Much – in Your Will and/or Trust

A will or trust is not just about who receives your money. It is also about who gets paid before your loved ones, charities, or other beneficiaries receive anything. Executors, trustees, attorneys, accountants, appraisers, real estate agents, court systems, financial institutions, and sometimes care managers may all be paid from your estate or trust. These fees may be fair and necessary. But they can also be vague, excessive, duplicated, or poorly controlled.

For solo agers, this matters even more. If you do not have a spouse, adult child, or trusted family member closely watching the process, your estate plan must do the watching for you.

When people think about a will or trust, they usually ask one question: “Who gets my money?”

That is the obvious question. But there is another question that may matter just as much:

“Who gets paid before my beneficiaries get paid?”

The answer can be surprising.

Your estate or trust may pay an executor, trustee, attorney, accountant, tax preparer, appraiser, real estate broker, property manager, house cleanout company, investment manager, court filing fees, bond premiums, storage costs, insurance costs, and other administrative expenses.

Some of these costs are unavoidable. A house may need to be sold. A tax return may need to be prepared. Legal guidance may be needed. But when fees are not controlled, estate settlement can become a quiet leak in the bucket.

For a solo ager, this can be especially important. You may not have a spouse or child ready to ask hard questions. If you do have children, they may live far away, be busy, be financially inexperienced, or disagree with each other. If you do not have children, you may rely on a friend, niece, nephew, sibling, professional fiduciary, bank, or trust company. Each choice has benefits and costs.

Who gets paid?

The executor is the person or institution named in your will to settle your probate estate. Probate assets are assets that pass through your will. This might include a bank account in your name alone, a house titled only in your name, or personal property not covered by beneficiary designations.

Executor fees vary by state. Some states use statutory formulas. Others use a “reasonable compensation” standard. Examples from 2025 summaries show wide variation, including statutory percentages such as 3 percent in Florida, tiered schedules in California and New York, and different formulas in other states.

The trustee is the person or institution that manages and distributes assets held in a trust. Trustee fees also vary. Professional trustees and corporate trustees often charge a percentage of trust assets each year. Current summaries commonly describe professional or corporate trustee fees in the range of roughly 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent annually, and sometimes higher for smaller or more complex trusts.

The attorney may charge hourly, a flat fee, or a percentage of the estate, depending on state law and local practice. In some cases, a percentage fee can become expensive very quickly. For example, a 5 percent legal fee on a $500,000 estate would be $25,000. Some attorneys offer flat fees for simple probate work, which can be easier to budget.

The accountant or tax preparer may be needed to prepare the deceased person’s final income tax return, fiduciary income tax returns for the estate or trust, and possibly estate tax returns. Many estates will not owe federal estate tax because the federal exemption is very high, but income tax filings may still be required.

The real estate broker may be paid a commission if your home is sold. The appraiser may be paid to value real estate, collectibles, jewelry, art, or business interests. The financial advisor may continue to charge asset management fees if the portfolio remains under management during settlement.

The court may charge probate filing fees. There may also be publication fees, certified copy fees, recording fees, and other administrative charges.

In other words, your beneficiaries may not simply receive what you owned. They receive what is left after the process is complete.

Why fees get out of control

Fees usually get out of control for one of five reasons.

First, the estate plan is vague. If your will or trust simply says the executor or trustee receives “reasonable compensation,” that may be legal, but it may not be clear. What is reasonable? Who decides? Based on what?

Second, too many professionals are involved without clear limits. An executor may hire an attorney, the attorney may hire an accountant, the trustee may use an investment advisor, and nobody may be asking whether each expense is necessary.

Third, assets are disorganized. If nobody can find account statements, passwords, deeds, insurance policies, beneficiary forms, and tax records, the estate takes longer to settle. Longer settlement usually means more fees.

Fourth, family conflict drives up costs. If beneficiaries argue, lawyers get involved. If lawyers get involved, the estate pays unless the court says otherwise. A poorly written plan can become a fee machine.

Fifth, the wrong fiduciary is chosen. A well-meaning friend may not know what to do. A bank may be competent but expensive. A child may be emotionally invested. A professional fiduciary may be excellent but must be monitored.

Solo agers with children

If you have children, do not assume they will automatically keep costs down. They may be grieving, busy, geographically distant, or financially inexperienced. Naming all children as co-executors may sound fair, but it can create delay if they disagree.

A better approach may be to name one capable child, with another person receiving copies of annual accountings. You can also require that major expenses above a certain dollar amount be documented in writing.

If you have one child who is responsible and another who is suspicious, build transparency into the plan. Suspicion thrives in silence. Regular reporting can prevent accusations later.

Solo agers without children

If you do not have children, the choice of executor or trustee becomes even more important. You may need to choose a trusted friend, niece, nephew, sibling, professional fiduciary, attorney, accountant, bank, or trust company.

This does not mean you should automatically avoid professionals. Sometimes a professional is the best choice. But professional help should be priced, compared, and limited where possible.

Before naming a bank or trust company, ask for the current fee schedule. Ask whether there is a minimum annual fee. Ask whether the institution will manage only financial assets or also handle real estate, personal property, bill paying, home cleanout, and beneficiary communication. Ask whether investment management fees are included or separate.

A small trust can be especially vulnerable to minimum fees. A $600,000 trust with a $6,000 annual minimum trustee fee is paying 1 percent before legal, tax, investment, or property costs.

The fee-control mechanism: build a Fiduciary Fee Control Letter into your estate plan

One practical way to keep expenses down is to create a Fiduciary Fee Control Letter. This is not a substitute for a will or trust. It is an instruction letter that your attorney can reference in your estate planning documents or attach as guidance.

The letter should say:

1. My executor or trustee must obtain a written fee schedule before hiring any attorney, accountant, investment advisor, appraiser, realtor, care manager, cleanout company, or other paid professional.

2. Percentage-based fees should not be accepted automatically. Flat-fee or hourly alternatives should be requested when practical.

3. Any professional expense above a stated amount, such as $2,500 or $5,000, should require written explanation and documentation.

4. The fiduciary should avoid duplicative services. For example, the estate should not pay both a trustee and an investment advisor for overlapping investment supervision unless there is a clear reason.

5. Beneficiaries should receive a plain-English summary of major fees at regular intervals.

6. The fiduciary should keep a time log if charging hourly or requesting compensation above the standard amount.

7. The fiduciary should consider using low-cost index funds during administration unless there is a specific reason not to.

8. Real estate, personal property, and digital assets should be organized in advance to reduce search time, legal time, and administrative delay.

This letter gives your fiduciary permission to be cost-conscious. It also tells professionals that your estate is not an open checkbook.

Other ways to reduce costs

Keep beneficiary designations current. Retirement accounts, life insurance, annuities, and transfer-on-death accounts can often pass outside probate if beneficiary forms are properly completed.

Use a revocable living trust when appropriate. A trust may help avoid probate, especially if you own real estate in more than one state. But the trust must actually be funded. An empty trust does not solve much.

Create a clean asset list. Include account names, approximate values, contact information, beneficiary status, and where documents are stored.

Simplify accounts. Ten scattered accounts create more work than three well-organized accounts.

Pre-plan your funeral. This prevents emotional overspending and confusion.

Discuss fees before naming anyone. Ask your proposed executor, trustee, attorney, or institution: “How would you be paid, and how much might this cost?”

Put fee language in the documents. Your will or trust can set compensation rules, require accountings, authorize fee review, and discourage unnecessary duplication.

The goal is not to avoid every fee. The goal is to make sure each fee is earned, documented, and reasonable.

Your estate plan should protect your beneficiaries from confusion, conflict, and unnecessary expense. It should also protect your executor or trustee by giving them clear instructions. Good people can make expensive mistakes when the plan is vague.

Money will leave your estate. The question is whether it leaves in an orderly, fair, controlled way - or whether it leaks away because no one planned the payment process.

• * Ask your estate attorney how executor and trustee fees are handled in your state.
• * Require written fee schedules before professionals are hired.
• * Avoid vague language where possible, especially “reasonable compensation” without guidance.
• * Ask banks or trust companies for minimum annual fees before naming them.
• * Compare professional trustee fees, attorney fees, and investment management fees.
• * Decide whether family fiduciaries may be paid, and how much.
• * Avoid naming multiple co-executors unless there is a strong reason.
• * Keep a current asset list with account numbers, contacts, and beneficiary status.
• * Update beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and insurance policies.
• * Fund your revocable trust if you create one.
• * Create a Fiduciary Fee Control Letter.
• * Require periodic reporting to beneficiaries or a trusted monitor.
• * Use low-cost index funds where appropriate during trust administration.
• * Pre-plan funeral and burial or cremation instructions.
• * Review your plan every three to five years, or after major life changes.