Attorney Reimbursement, Accountant Fees in Estate or Trust Accountings

In the course of obtaining a decree finally settling a formal judicial accounting of an estate or trust, even in uncontested matters, fiduciaries often find their accountings being scrutinized sua sponte by the Surrogate’s Courts on the issues of accountant’s fees and reimbursement of disbursements under the authority of Stortecky v. Mazzone.¹

It respectfully is suggested that (1) the presently accepted manner of fixation of attorney’s fees pursuant to Matter of Potts,² and Matter of Freeman,³ rather than on a straight percentage basis, (2) the practices and technological capabilities of present-day law offices with regard to the separate billing of disbursements, (3) statutory changes recognizing the “unbundling” of client services, (4) contemporary court decisions, and (5) the complexity of the tax laws, regulations, and forms, have rendered some of the language in the cases being relied upon by various courts on the issues of accountant’s fees and reimbursement of disbursements no longer applicable.

Accountant’s Fees