4. Pay any specific bequests and legacies and then pay yourself

If there's a will, there's an order you must follow when distributing the .

You must first pay out any specific bequests that are in the will. A is a gift of a certain piece of property like:

a car
a piece of jewelry
the money in a specific bank account

Next, you must pay out any legacies. A is a gift of a specific amount of money.

After you distribute any specific bequests and legacies, what's left in the estate is called the .

If there’s not enough money

If the estate does not have enough money to pay out all the legacies, they all get reduced in proportional percentages.

For example, let's say the will said 2 get $10,000 each. But there was only $10,000 in the estate after all and taxes were paid. Then each beneficiary gets $5,000 each instead.

This means there is no money left for beneficiaries who are getting the residue.

Estate trustee compensation

You're usually paid from the residue for being an . If there's a will, it might say how much you're paid.

Sometimes, the will says nothing about the estate trustee being paid. Or the person may have died without a will. In these situations, the law says you have the right to get fees that are “fair and reasonable”.

This amount depends on what the estate is worth how much work you must do and how well you handled the estate.

In general, you can be paid: 

about 5% of the estate's value, and sometimes, 
an additional care and management fee of 2/5 of 1% of the average annual value of you manage.

Ask the beneficiaries to agree

Before you pay yourself, it's a good idea to ask the beneficiaries of the residue to agree to the estate trustee compensation.

You should give them a clear and organized statement that shows:

the that were in the estate when the person died
the funds deposited into the estate account
the expenses and debts you paid or that are still owing, including taxes
the payment of specific bequests and legacies
the fees you're going to take and explain how you calculated the amount
how much will be left in the residue to be divided between the beneficiaries

If the beneficiaries do not agree

If the beneficiaries do not agree to the estate trustee fees you're asking for, you must go to court to pass your accounts.

In a passing of accounts, the estate trustee starts a court application asking the judge to approve how they managed the estate and the estate trustee compensation.

The estate trustee must give a detailed summary of what they did, including all transactions, in a court-approved format. Beneficiaries are informed, may look at the accounts, and can raise any concerns.

It's best to get help from an estates lawyer.