Executor Compensation and Fees (MH)

In the Marshall Islands, it's common for an executor who was related to, or friends with, the decedent to perform the executor duties at no charge. That being said, it's also OK to charge a reasonable rate, as long as you keep a record of your services.

In 2005, the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) High Court issued a ruling stating that, in general, attorney fees should reflect:

• Nature of the work involved (time, effort, difficulty, skills required)
• Compensation customarily charged (in the community for similar services)
• Size of the estate (and the results obtained)
• Any time limitations
• Experience and capabilities of the person

While average citizens are not bound by rules for attorneys, the above does give some guidance in terms of what might be reasonable. Accordingly, you may want to charge by the hour, or by size of estate.

So for example, a simple RMI estate worth $150K that took 500 of standard work and 80 of professional work by the executor might generate $7K in executor fees (see calculator below).

EstateExec provides the following executor compensation estimator for RMI estates, but please keep in mind that there are no hard and fast rules for RMI estates, and ultimately you must determine what would be reasonable for your particular circumstances. By using this estimator, you acknowledge that EstateExec provides any results as informational input only, not as legal advice, and cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies for, or misunderstandings about, any given estate.

Below EstateExec provides two compensation approaches: you can decide which, if either, is appropriate for you. The first uses a sliding percentage scale based on the total estate gross value (the larger the estate, the smaller the percentage) and its complexity; the second simply compensates the executor for the value of his or her time. See estimation methodology for details.