§ 13.3.1.3 PROBATE COURT HAS BROAD DISCRETION TO DETERMINE REASONABLENESS OF FEES

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

§ 13.3.1.3 Probate Court Has Broad Discretion to Determine Reasonableness of Fees

"The reasonableness of compensation for the attorneys representing the personal representative is peculiarly within the knowledge of the probate court and will not be disturbed absent a showing of abuse of discretion." In re Wright's Estate, 132 Ariz. 555, 560, 647 P.2d 1153, 1158 (App. 1982) (citations omitted), disapproved on other grounds, Marvin Johnson, P.C. v. Myers, 184 Ariz. 98, 907 P.2d 67 (1995); accord In re Balke's Estate, 78 Ariz. 102, 111, 276 P.2d 527, 534 (1954); In re O'Reilly's Estate, 27 Ariz. 222, 225-26, 231 P. 916, 918 (1925). Indeed, this is a long-standing rule in Arizona that predates, but also survives, the enactment of the Revised Arizona Probate Code. In 1940, the Arizona Supreme Court explained the reasoning behind the probate court's discretion:

We can think of no person better qualified to fix the fee of an attorney for the personal representative than the probate judge in whose court the estate is being administered. In the first place, being an attorney he knows the value of legal services; in the second place, he is possessed of a knowledge from the court records of what has been done by the attorney in recovering, preserving...