Executor Fees in New Brunswick: What You're Entitled to Charge

Being an executor in New Brunswick is a significant legal responsibility — one that carries genuine personal liability risks and demands months of administrative work. You are entitled to be compensated for it. But the rules around executor fees are frequently misunderstood, and the distinction between what the executor earns and what the lawyer charges gets confused regularly, sometimes causing estate disputes that cost everyone far more than the fee itself.

What Executors Are Entitled to Under the Trustees Act

In New Brunswick, executor compensation is governed by the Trustees Act. The statute authorizes "fair and reasonable" compensation but does not set a fixed percentage. In practice, the courts and the legal community have settled on an accepted industry standard of approximately 3% of the gross aggregate value of the estate.

For a complex or unusually time-consuming estate — one that involves managing ongoing rental income, operating a business, or administering assets across multiple years — an additional annual care and management fee of approximately 0.4% may also be appropriate.

These are guidelines, not automatic entitlements. If a beneficiary challenges the compensation as excessive, the Probate Court will look at the complexity of the work, the time spent, the skill required, and the degree of risk you assumed as executor. This is exactly why keeping detailed records of every hour worked and every decision made matters from day one.

Example calculation for a $400,000 estate:

• 3% executor compensation: $12,000
• If administration extends across two years with an active investment portfolio: additional 0.4% per year = $1,600 per year

Executor Fees vs. Lawyer Fees — These Are Not the Same

This is the most common source of confusion in estate administration: the executor's personal compensation and the lawyer's professional fees are two entirely separate charges against the estate. Both may be legitimate. Both must be accounted for separately.

If you hire a New Brunswick solicitor to prepare and file the probate application, handle the Royal Gazette Notice to Creditors, or manage the formal passing of accounts, the estate pays the lawyer's fees according to the prescribed tariff set out in Regulation 84-9 (Schedule B) under the Probate Court Act:

For a $400,000 estate, the prescribed solicitor's tariff works out to: $300 (first $10K) + $450 (next $90K) + $990 (next $300K) = approximately $1,740. This tariff covers services incidental to the administration up to the first formal passing of accounts. If the matter goes to court for a contested passing of accounts, additional fees apply.

Note that this is a tariff, not a cap. Lawyers may charge more if the estate is unusually complex and the work performed exceeds what the tariff compensates. Any fees above the tariff should be negotiated upfront in a retainer agreement.

How Executor Compensation Gets Approved

There are two paths to approving executor compensation:

Informal approval: If all residual adult beneficiaries review the final accounting, agree that the compensation is reasonable, and sign a release and consent form, no court involvement is required. This is the path most straightforward estates take.

Formal passing of accounts (Forms 3M to 3P): If any beneficiary objects to the compensation, refuses to sign, is a minor or incapacitated person, or cannot be located, the executor must apply to the Probate Court for a formal passing of accounts. A judge reviews the ledgers, approves or adjusts the compensation, and issues an order. This process takes additional months and adds cost — but it also completely protects the executor from future challenge once the order is made.

Practical Advice for Protecting Your Compensation Claim

Executors who keep poor records end up arguing from memory against beneficiaries who kept every email. From the day you take on the role:

• Log every hour spent, with a brief note on what you did
• Keep receipts for every out-of-pocket expense (mileage, courier fees, postage, bank charges)
• Document every decision that involved judgment — which assets to sell first, when to list the property, why you chose a particular approach
• Open a dedicated estate bank account and never commingle estate funds with your personal accounts

The estate reimburses out-of-pocket expenses in addition to the executor's compensation. These are separate items.

The Danger of Taking Fees Early

Some executors pay themselves the compensation before the estate is fully wound up. This creates serious problems. Until the CRA Clearance Certificate is obtained and all creditor claims are resolved, you do not know the final estate value — which means you cannot calculate the final compensation. More importantly, if you take money out of the estate and then a creditor or the CRA makes a claim, you may be personally required to return those funds.

The safest approach is to take executor compensation at the final distribution stage, after the Clearance Certificate is in hand and all debts and taxes are settled.

For a complete guide to preparing the final accounting, managing the formal and informal passing of accounts, and protecting yourself from personal liability throughout the process, the New Brunswick Probate Process Guide walks through every step with printable worksheets and plain-English explanations of the relevant legislation.

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