Opinion ID: 1280645
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Personal Draws

Text: The master surcharged Gudschinsky $2,297.05 for excessive fees as personal representative. A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for services. AS 13.16.430. We, like most other courts, review a lower court's determination of reasonable compensation only for abuse of discretion. See, e.g., Estate of Tully, 545 A.2d 1275, 1276-78 (Me. 1988); In re Estate of Odineal, 220 Neb. 168, 368 N.W.2d 800, 801-02 (1985). In the proceedings below, it was found that a reasonable fee was $20 per hour and that Gudschinsky should be allowed to bill the estate for 1000 hours. In setting the rate at $20 per hour, the master considered Gudschinsky's lack of special expertise, the large number of hours spent without much to show for it, the poor job done in administering the estate, and that the customary fee in the area is about $10-$20 per hour. Gudschinsky does not dispute these considerations; she simply maintains that her fee of $22,297.05 was not excessive in light of the size of the estate. However, the only case she cites in support of this position is In re Estate of Wright, 132 Ariz. 555, 647 P.2d 1153 (App. 1982). It is true that the total fee in Wright was larger than what was awarded to Gudschinsky. Yet if one calculates the representative's hourly fee in Wright, it turns out that it was only $12.50 per hour  $7.50 less than the hourly rate awarded to Gudschinsky. In light of the master's findings, we find no abuse of discretion in setting Gudschinsky's rate at $20 per hour. Gudschinsky also contests the master's finding that she should be compensated for only 1000 hours instead of the 1148 hours she requested. The master cited an error rate of approximately 10% in the time sheets submitted by Gudschinsky. Considering this and the fact that Gudschinsky's sloppy administration resulted in duplicative work by the new personal representative, we cannot say that the figure of 1000 hours is clearly erroneous. Thus, we affirm the superior court's order with respect to the surcharge of $2,297.05 for excessive fees.