New York Probate and Estate Administration Lawyer Blog
The probate courts have reviewed an agreement between parties regarding settlement of estates, which was skillfully done by a highly trained court appointee to take care the personal and property interest of one of decedent’s sister who was sick.
Decedent had written a will. In his will, he named his heirs and also named his properties to be freely disposed. He had four siblings still leaving that will receive his bounty and become his beneficiaries to enjoy the continues use, possession and enjoyment of his estate.
The instrument has given all of decedent’s property to his sisters in three equal shares, two of which pass to decedent’s sisters. The will directed that the third equal share be paid over to decedent’s niece. The sick sister rejected this, because as decedent’s sister she had to her share from her brother’s estate. A New York Probate Lawyer said when the formal application was presented to institute an appeal regarding the share of decedent’s surviving sick sister, the court have taken its course.
Estate administrator courts were satisfied with the accomplishment of the guardian ad litem toward his ward. Appointed probate lawyers discovered that one of the siblings had established joints accounts using a power of attorney executed by decedent. He furthered learned that the contents of the will had been prepared based on telephone instructions from an attorney, and that a lawyer had not supervised the will execution. Additionally, based upon information discovered by the guardian ad litem, which included medical records, serious question were raised concerning decedent’s competency at the time the will was executed.
The appointed guardian ad litem on behalf of his ward communicated his potential objections to the of the estate layers of other three siblings who attempted to defraud the true intention of the testator as provided in the wills and testament submitted to probate courts. Both lawyers sit down and discussed matters of negotiation. At the end of the meeting, the two estate lawyers agreed. A Staten Island Probate Lawyer said the stipulation provided that the three other siblings would pay his ward out of their own personal money. The so-called documents would be admitted to probate courts without any effect on distributions to be made under the will. The guardian ad litem calculations reflected that the settlement amount payable to his ward closely mirrors her intestate expenses which would have been incurred by the estate had the matter not been successfully settled. A settlement was set and was approved by the courts.
Because of the guardian ad litem intellectual devotion to his profession, he won the case and received positive remarks. He rendered his services at par. The estate litigation courts named his ward in the letters testamentary.
Estate administration courts were satisfied of the professionalism of their appointees in probate proceedings. They take responsibility on approving fees charged to an estate. They have the good judgment to determine what composed reasonable payment for legal services rendered in the course of the administration trial of an estate.
The estate administration courts have fixed the fee of the guardian ad litem. The parties involved have consented for the fee. While there were no hard and fast rule to calculate reasonable compensation to an attorney in every case, the estate litigation courts were required to exercise their authority “with reason, proper discretion and not arbitrarily”.
In evaluating the cost of legal services, the probate courts considered number of factors. Included were the following: the time spent, the complexity of the questions involved, the nature of the services provided, the amounts involved, and the benefit resulting from the execution for such services, the lawyer’s experience and reputation, and the customary fee charged by the Bar to similar services.
In discharging the duty to review fees, the estate litigation courts cannot apply a selected few factors which might be more favorable to one position or another but must strike a balance by considering all of the elements set first by law. Also, the legal fee must bear a reasonable relationship of the size of the estate and to the interest of the ward of the guardian ad litem. Moreover, it was well settled that time spent was, in fact, the least important factor considered by probate courts in fixing reasonable compensation. These factors apply equally to an attorney retained by a fiduciary or to the court-appointed guardian ad litem. Moreover, the nature of the role played by the guardian ad litem was in additional consideration, the fee of a guardian ad litem was an administration expenses of an estate and was paid from the estate assets.
In addition, the legal fee must bear a reasonable relationship to the size of the estate and the interest of the reward of the guardian ad litem. Suffolk County Probate Lawyers said it is well settled that time spent was, in fact, the least important factor considered by a court in fixing reasonable compensation.
A sizeable estate permits adequate compensation. The burden in establishing the reasonable value of legal services performed rests on the attorney performing those services.
The fee was fixed in the amount requested by the guardian ad litem, which have to be paid out of the general assets of the estate within several days of the issuance of full letters of administration to petitioner. The court thanks the guardian ad litem for his fine work and the outstanding result achieved on behalf of his ward.
Cheating when discovered may harm a person’s integrity and cost his finances to pay back what he was withholding.
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