attorney costs?

Just curious what others might have paid for the attorney costs when their loved one passes.

My aunt's attorney who is handling the trust and probate gave us a flat fee based on her asset figures. But it is a BIG chuck of money. Seems outrageous to me.

Wondering what others might have paid, if you don't mind sharing. TIA

Re: attorney costs?

We did it ourselves for my grandma.Get about 10-20 death certificates. Each utility will want one, one for the bank, one for your files, depends upon assets and how things are structured. If she had substantial assets and a multitude of people inheriting, then it might be needed. If she had a will and a regular sort of life, you might be able to do everything on your own.

Edit: on average it is 3-10% of the value of the estate depending upon complexity.

Message edited 2/18/2021 10:34:24 PM.

attorney costs?

I was quoted between 3000 and 5000 when my mom passed in October 2019. She did not have a will but the only asset were her house. I ended up going through the court system myself. It took awhile to be honest especially when COVID hit. I just closed out the estate after I sold the house. Feel free to ask any questions.

Edit: I have 2 siblings and this process ended up sucking especially since I basically had to kick my sister out of the house to sell it. Moral of the story is have a will. And yes my mom had lung cancer for 3 years so she didn’t pass away suddenly.

Message edited 2/17/2021 6:21:02 PM.

Re: attorney costs?

It depends. It's can run to be very expense based on what is involved. There can be a lot of work that goes in to disposing an estate. If there are trusts, real property, business assets, ect...it can be costly.

attorney costs?

It really depends on so many different factors, as others have stated. If there is anyone who may contest the will (or however things were left to others) or if there are any complicated assets, you really want to make sure you have an attorney that knows what they are doing

Re: attorney costs?

Message edited 2/19/2021 1:18:22 PM.

Re: attorney costs?

It depends on so many factors. With both a trust and a need for probate. that will add to the costs, but the way things were set up, there might already be a savings on estate taxes. You do not have to use the attorney who did the estate planning for your aunt. You are entitled to all documents and you can take them for more consultations. Estate work is generally extremely expensive, though.