Representative salary.

[mede]

I live in Washington State.

I have a couple of questions regarding personal representatives and what they are allowed to take from the estate.

(1) First of all: salary. In this case, the representative is one of two beneficiaries and I am the other. The estate started off with only one asset (a property worth $400,000) less than $3,000 of debt, and over $2,000 of monthly rental income. I don't know how much the representative has been paying himself, but it has been two years (I believe exactly) since the decedent's passing and the estate's account is now apparently empty. Conservatively, I guess that maybe he's paid himself $15,000 to $20,000.

How much is a representative allowed to pay himself? Is he allowed to decide the rate for himself or does the court decide an amount for him? My feeling is that he has just been taking money out of the estate's account on his own. Is there a range that is considered reasonable? Is he expected to keep track of the hours he actually worked? I'm pretty sure, in this case, there were a multitude of months in which he did nothing but pay himself.

Also, apparently the $3,000 of debt that the estate had was paid off in May, but I'm pretty sure he's been paying himself a salary for the six months since then. Is he allowed to continue to pay himself a salary when, as I understand, the probate could have already been ended?

(2) The representative has also been living in a unit on the property that should probably rent for over $2,500 per month, and has been staying there rent and utility free for the duration of the probate. I believe he moved in a couple of months into the process. Two years of gross scheduled income from this unit would be $60,000 or more.

Even if I'm being petty by being skeptical about the salary, I'm pretty sure I'm correct in feeling that this is not right, but is there anything I can do at this point regarding the tens of thousands of dollars of lost rent for the estate?

(3.) One final question: are beneficiaries entitled to an accounting of the estate when the probate is ended? If so, do we get transaction history from the estate account or is the representative allowed to just make a spreadsheet or something?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[adjusterjack]

You're being screwed.

There is no reason on earth that an estate with a single property and very little debt takes that long to settle.

Here's a link to WA fees. Scroll down to Probate Fees in Washington Since 1917. There's a link to the statute in the explanation:

http://www.wa-probate.com/Instructions/Opening/PR-Compensation.htm

Nothing in the Section titles of the Probate code jump out at me about beneficiary rights to an accounting so you might as well familiarize yourself with the entire code and maybe you can find it.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11

You're going to need your own probate lawyer or nothing changes.

 

[mede]

Ostensibly, with regards to ending probate, "he's working on it." So hopefully that will be done soon. I will definitely talk to a lawyer soon. One thing I'm wondering about is if I have a case at this point to seek to get back some of the lost rent.

 

[adjusterjack]

Ask the lawyer when you hire him.

 

[Dandy Don]

Who currently owns the property? Won't you and the other beneficiary get to decide whether the property is sold or whether you want it to be rented out?
If you all want to rent it out, then you beneficiaries need to negotiate a written lease/rental agreement with the representative. Since there is now no written agreement, he is staying there rent free and you will not be able to collect back rent.

 

[justalayman]

Have you bothered to get copies of the court file? There will be some level of
Accounting within that.

 

[mede]

Who currently owns the property? Won't you and the other beneficiary get to decide whether the property is sold or whether you want it to be rented out?
If you all want to rent it out, then you beneficiaries need to negotiate a written lease/rental agreement with the representative. Since there is now no written agreement, he is staying there rent free and you will not be able to collect back rent.

The property is owned by the estate. I don't think I have a right to rent out a house I don't own. The only one who can make decisions like that is the personal representative, which is the problem.

Justalayman, I don't know how to go about getting copies of the court file, but I will find out when I talk to the lawyer.

Thanks.

 

[justalayman]

The property is owned by the estate. I don't think I have a right to rent out a house I don't own. The only one who can make decisions like that is the personal representative, which is the problem.

Justalayman, I don't know how to go about getting copies of the court file, but I will find out when I talk to the lawyer.

Thanks.

You can ask the lawyer of course but you can Also contact the involved court and ask them. They will likely charge a fee to copy the contents.

 

[Dandy Don]

If you don't want to pay for copies, you can visit the courthouse and look at the file yourself.

What you don't understand is that if you two are the beneficiaries, then at some point during the probate process, the representative is supposed to have the deed changed to show the names of the beneficiaries.

You and the other beneficiary can force a sale of the property if that is what you both agree to do, or you both can continue to rent it out.