In this uncontested proceeding, the executor seeks to judicially settle her account, including approval of attorney fees and other expenses and requests an order allowing payment of all outstanding expenses to be paid from two supplemental needs trusts established for the decedent’s two children. The guardian ad litem appointed for the children does not object to the application. Jurisdiction was acquired over all other parties including the remaindermen and all other necessary parties, including the New York City Human Resources Administration, with no appearance in opposition on the return date of the virtual hearing. No objections to the application have been received to date. The decedent died on January 21, 2016 and her will was admitted to probate by decree of this court dated September 23, 2016. The will provides, inter alia, for the creation of two supplemental needs trusts for her two children and only distributees, who are both under a disability, with a 50 percent share of the residuary estate distributed to each trust. The account as filed shows total charges of $35,504.26 with funeral and other administration expenses of $25,422.92 and distributions of $28,070.34 with no cash on hand. The petitioner explains that the two SNTs were funded with assets that passed outside of the estate and there is currently no cash on hand to pay the outstanding expenses. Accordingly, she requests that the other outstanding expenses, including attorneys’ fees incurred for the probate proceeding and the establishment of the SNTs, and the balance of the executor commissions and other various expenses related to the care of the two children which was advanced by the attorney who was appointed trustee of the two trusts, be reimbursed from the funds currently in the two SNTs. The court bears the ultimate responsibility for approving legal fees that are charged to an estate and has the discretion to determine what constitutes reasonable compensation (see Matter of Stortecky v. Mazzone, 85 NY2d 518 [1995]; Matter of Stellis, 216 AD2d 473 [2d Dept 1995]; Matter of Vitiole, 215 AD2d 765 [2nd Dept 1995]; Matter of Verplanck, 151 AD2d 767 [2d Dept 1989]), based on a variety of factors, inter alia, including the time spent, the difficulties involved in the matters in which the services were rendered, the nature of the services and the amount of the fee sought, the size of the estate, and the benefit to the estate from the services provided (see Matter of Freeman, 34 NY2d 1 [1974]; Matter of Potts, 213 App Div 59 [4th Dept 1925], affd 241 NY 593 [1925], Matter of Coughlin, 221 AD2d 676 [3rd Dept 1995]). In support of the fee request, estate counsel filed several affirmations of legal services with time sheets showing that a total of 221 hours, for himself and his paralegal, at hourly rates of $300 and $200, respectively, were expended in the original probate proceeding and in establishing and funding the two supplemental needs trusts and filing this accounting proceeding. Counsel subsequently reduced the fee request to $40,970 but also seeks to be reimbursed $2,535 for disbursements incurred in all of those proceedings including the filing fees therein. On this state of the record, the application is granted and the court determines that all of the foregoing services were necessary, reasonable and benefit the estate and the two children and allows same in the reduced sum requested (see Matter of Freeman, 34 NY2d at 1). The fee of the guardian ad litem is to be fixed and allowed in the decree to be settled hereon. Settle decree.
