A court has ruled that a law firm acting as a joint executor of a woman’s estate was not entitled to charge the estate for professional executor services because the will did not contain a valid provision allowing such fees.
The decision was made in Royal Holloway and Bedford New College v QLaw Legal Services Ltd, where Costs Judge Leonard considered whether QLaw Legal Services Ltd had a legal right to recover approximately £53,000 in professional fees.
The dispute arose following the death of Margaret Selby, who had appointed a friend and the directors of the law firm as executors of her will. Over a period of around six months, the firm issued bills totalling approximately £53,000 for services provided by one of its directors, Neil Quantick, in his capacity as a professional executor.
The residuary beneficiary of the estate challenged the charges and asked the court to assess whether the fees were properly payable.
The beneficiary argued that the firm had no legal basis for charging the estate because the will did not contain a clause giving the professional executors the right to receive remuneration.
The law firm disagreed. It relied on correspondence sent to Ms Selby before her death, which stated that the firm would charge for acting as professional executors. The firm also referred to further communications with the co-executor after her death, including information about its hourly rates and billing arrangements.
However, the court found that these communications did not establish a valid right for the firm to charge the estate.
The judge noted that if Ms Selby had intended her executors to have a right to charge for their professional services, that intention could have been included expressly within her will. The will, however, contained no such charging provision.
The court also found that the statutory requirement for a written agreement from the co-executor concerning professional remuneration had not been satisfied.
As a result, the law firm was found not to have established an entitlement to charge the estate for the professional executor services provided.
The ruling does not necessarily bring the matter to an end. The judge indicated that the firm could make a separate application asking the court to exercise its discretion regarding payment. Any such application could take into account the work actually carried out for the estate.
The decision highlights the importance of ensuring that wills and estate arrangements clearly address the remuneration of professional executors. It also demonstrates the potential consequences when the authority to charge for professional services has not been properly established.
For beneficiaries and executors involved in estate administration, obtaining appropriate legal advice at an early stage can help avoid disputes over professional fees and ensure that the terms governing an estate are properly documented.
