Chapter 34 - § 34.36 • FEES OF REPRESENTATIVES

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 34.36 • FEES OF REPRESENTATIVES

The Code supplants the former statutory maximum fee schedule for personal representatives with one that provides for reasonable compensation, subject to review by the court. Experience has shown that the reasonableness of a representative's fee may depend in large part upon the allocation of responsibility between the estate attorney and the representative. If the representative has failed to keep time records, entitlement to compensation is compromised, especially where virtually all of the day-to-day responsibilities have been undertaken by the attorney and his or her support staff. The Code permits a representative to reject a provision for compensation fixed by will, renouncing it before acting (provided there is no contract with the decedent), and to be entitled to reasonable compensation. He or she may waive the fee in writing and file the waiver in court. The representative is entitled to be reimbursed for any legal expense incurred in good faith.¹¹² Criteria for determination of reasonable compensation for personal representative and attorney were articulated and applied in Estate of Painter.¹¹³ See also discussion at § 16.3.4. Estate of Musso¹¹⁴ deals with appellate review of a trial court's establishment of a proper hourly rate for services and for the number of...