How much should a personal representative in West Palm Beach be paid? Is $75/hour too much to pay a personal representative?

Do you know how much the personal representative for your father’s estate  is being paid? If you are concerned about excessive fees or other mismanagement you may be entitled to petition the West Palm Beach probate court to remove the personal representative. You are going to have to prove to the probate court that removal is proper and if you don’t you may end up on appeal like the appellant in this recent case out of the Appellate Court of Illinois.

Personal Representatives in West Palm Beach

• In other jurisdictions they may be called an executor or administrator but a personal representative is the person who probates the estate in West Palm Beach.
• To serve in Florida you will have to either be a Florida resident or a relative of thedecedent.
• You also need to be at least 18 and not a felon.
• The personal representative will be in charge of gathering the assets of the estate and distributing the assets with the approval of the probate court.
• A personal representative is entitled to a reasonable fee for their time and troubles as well as expenses.
• What constitutes reasonable?
• If you are concerned about improper conduct or exorbitant costs you may want to petition the probate court for removal.

Removal of a Personal Representative

• Do you know what to show the Court when you want a personal representative removed?
• The Court is not going to just remove someone because of personal distrust, you are going to need evidence.
• If you cannot make your case you may end up like the appellant in this recent case out of California.

In re Estate of Myers

• In this case family members alleged that the personal representative (in Illinois its called an executor) failed to properly invest estate assets.
• They also alleged that $75/hour was too high of a fee.
• What do you think is a reasonable fee for a personal representative in West Palm Beach?
• The petitioners in this case failed to prove their case and the trial court found the fee reasonable and did not find any misconduct that warranted dismissal.
• What you may not realize is the appeal is not a retrial of the issues and the executor had an uphill battle on appeal.
• The Illinois appeals court would only reverse the findings of the trial judge if they were “clearly erroneous.”

Want to learn more about petitioning the West Palm Beach probate court for removal of a personal representative?

Check out the entire case by clicking here.