Brown Bag Lunch – April 19, 2022

Members of the OBA Trusts and Estates section met in April for another great monthly Brown Bag Lunch discussion.

Participants kicked off the discussion with a question about executor’s compensation and how other attendees typically quantify compensation in the Wills they draft. BBLers seemed to generally share the view that they do not typically include any language in the Will specifying how compensation is to be calculated. Although attendees did indicate that some clients insist on including something like an hourly rate, or a fixed dollar value, they generally try to discourage their clients from fixing the amount of compensation. One BBLer noted that if practitioners do decide to fix the amount of compensation, one should be careful if indicating that it should be calculated by way of a percentage, as there may be a question as to how the percentage should be calculated—is it based on value at date of death, is there a discount for any liabilities, etc.