Q: After an estate is settled, is it too late to challenge an accounting or file a complaint about the commission charged?
New York State, Suffolk County: Is it too late (in 2017) for a beneficiary (or a co-executor) to file a complaint with the court about the commission charged by the executor for an estate that was settled in 2012? The executor paid himself $30k as the attorney for the estate, plus a full commission of $20k. But in Suffolk County, NY, statute requires that there be an affidavit from the testator saying the executor could be paid both; in the absence of the affidavit (as in this case), statute says the executor can then only be paid 1/2 commission, if also receiving attorney's fees.
A: When you say "settled" if there was a final accounting approved by the court, you are too late. If there was none, and the fiduciary was not discharged by an order, then it is still "open" and you can bring such a claim. Your view of the law is correct.
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