Q: No will, small estate; but needs probate. I have all information. What is considered "customarily" fee for Stark County
My relatives had no children, and my mother is next of kin; but very elderly. I will be appointed administrator. Just need to fill out Release Form for Aunt and then full probate due to Uncle being survivor. Only had a house and one car. I am able to provide all records of assets, liabilities, deeds, and one policy. Been reading a lot of books on probate, Ohio Revised Code, and I would like to ask what is reasonable to pay an attorney in Stark County?
A: There are two ways an attorney can charge for an estate. One is hourly and the other is according to the value of the estate. You can contact attorneys and ask how they charge. Also many attorneys will give a complementary consultation where they estimate their fees. And you can check the Stark County probate website to see if they have a calculator for the attorney fees based on the value of the estate.
C. Lawrence Huddleston III and Tim Akpinar agree with this answer
A: There are exceptions, but in my experience no matter how the attorney charges (hourly, fixed fee or by court fee schedule), a general rule of thumb is 2% of assets. Probably higher if the estate is very small and there is no Will ... which always complicates things. If you are as well organized as you say, you should meet with an expert probate attorney to review your case and get a more specific idea of fees. Many probate lawyers will not charge for the initial consultation. December is a tough month to schedule, however, as most probate lawyers are busy trying to clean up cases before December 31.
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