Estate Settlement Costs

[Gibson68]

Jurisdiction

North Carolina

What do law firms charge for their services in estate settlement? Do they charge a percent of the estate value? Do they charge by the hour? What other expenses are common?

 

[army judge]

What do law firms charge for their services in estate settlement?

You'll need to ask a few, as every firm sets their fee.

Do they charge a percent of the estate value?

Lawyers who assist with the probate process charge for their work in one of three ways: by the hour, as a percentage of the gross estate or by a single, flat fee that encompasses all work from start to finish. There are some pros and cons to each option, and an executor can usually request one arrangement over the others. It never hurts to ask for a different fee arrangement other than what the attorney normally charges, but fees can be governed by state rules and laws.

How Much Do Lawyers Charge to Settle an Estate?
...
How Much Do Lawyers Charge to Help With Probate or Settling an Estate?
...
What Fees Do Estate and Trust Attorneys Charge? - dummies
...

What other expenses are common?

It'll be much simpler and more accurate WHEN you conduct YOUR due diligence.

 

[zddoodah]

In my experience, none of which is in North Carolina, lawyers are paid a percentage of the estate. In my state, there's a statutory formula for calculating it (although additional fees for "extraordinary" services are possible).

Since no one who posts here is a probate attorney in North Carolina (AFAIK), you're highly unlikely to get a useful answer to your question here, so I suggest you contact some attorneys in the county where the estate about which you're concerned will be probated and ask. Note also that fees may vary greatly between, e.g., Wake/Durham Counties and Graham County.

 

[flyingron]

State law here in NC caps the fee at no more than 5% of the estate value. How much less than that is a point of negotiation between the attorney and the estate. It typically goes between 1 and 5%. Typically smaller estates pay the larger fee while larger ones can get the low end.