Reasonable expenses???

[LadyBanker]

Hi. I am one of three executors and know that we are entitled to "reasonable expenses" for undertaking our duties.

I have undertaken the majority of the paperwork, grant of probate etc and am not a beneficiary of the estate but I'm not concerned about charging for my time doing that and wouldnt want any payment for that work

However, to get the property to a state at which it can go up for sale we have spent a large amount of time undertaking general repairs and cleaning. I apprecviate that had we enlisted professionals we would have paid the going rate, but where possible to keep costs down we have done it ourselves. How much per hour would be deemed to be reasonable £5, £7 ???

I know its hard to get any cleaning company who would work for less than £10 per hour, but we have around 200 hours in total between us, and dont want to reduce the value of the estate by too much. That said we do want some reimbursement for our time as all beneficiaries were asked to pitch in with help as they would gain from the work completed (and only a couple helped). Many thanks

[Kati]

Re: Reasonable expenses???

tagging [MENTION=39710]des8[/MENTION] [MENTION=141]enaid[/MENTION] ... any advice??

[des8]

Re: Reasonable expenses???

Sorry, but an executor cannot charge for his time!
You should have got house clearers in, and qualified workman to carry out essential repairs and maintenace as their charges would be covered.
If you want payment for these actions you will need to produce an invoice as if you were a third party employed by the executors, but this could lead to problems even if only one of the beneficiaries raises a query.
Charge minimum wage rates for clearance, and going rate for repair work


You could ask the beneficiaries for a "recognition".

[warwick65]

Re: Reasonable expenses???

Don't forget to claim any travel, phone calls etc

[Welsh18]

Re: Reasonable expenses???

Hi can I ask a question too around expenses? My mothers will states 'testementary expenses' which although not specifically defined, include things such as estate agent fees/probateapplication fees etc. My question is around travelling expenses. I've covered approx 2000 miles administering the estate as an executor but didn't keep any fuel receipts as I wasn't aware this could be counted as an expense. As I have to provide estate accounts showing the residual balance, would I need petrol receipts to class this as an official expense? Many thanks in advance.

[des8]

Re: Reasonable expenses???

Travel expenses cover more than fuel, and fuel receipts in themselves prove nothing as the fuel could have been used anywhere.
You should claim for your mileage at a rate per mile. Presumably you can show, (if anyone queries your claim) that you most likely covered this distance.
The tax allowance rate per mile is 45p (https://www.gov.uk/government/public...and-allowances) but AA & RAC published data about the cost of running a car.

[Welsh18]

Re: Reasonable expenses???

thats really helpful, Thankyou. The travel has predominantly been from my home to my mothers home (266 mile round trip) to coesr the house/paperwork etc and for solicitors appointments so am happy those trips have been a requirement to ensure the administration has been done.