Riter's Estate

Citations

• 260 Pa. 168
• 103 A. 554
• 1918 Pa. LEXIS 487

Syllabus

<p>Trust and trustees — Hxecutors and administrators — Commissions —Special services — Act of March 17,186k, P• D. 58 — Claim for additional services — Disallowance.</p> <p>1. The rule that commissions on the principal of a trust estate will not be allowed except where the fund is in the course of distribution, is of general application and will only be departed from in exceptional cases, as where the trust is of long duration and the fund has been largely increased by the skillful management of the trustee.</p> <p>2. An executor is not entitled to a commission on the enhanced value of stocks and other investments made with money on which commissions had been charged and allowed in a prior account.</p> <p>3. A trustee of an estate exceeding $3,500,000 in value claimed $Y5,000 as additional compensation for alleged extraordinary ¡services, consisting mainly of a most advantageous sale of the plant and business of a manufacturing company in which the estate owned the controlling interest. It appeared that the trustee had already received compensation in his capacity as sole executor of the estate, which consisted partly of shares of stock of such company, of which the trustee was president, in which capacity he received an annual salary of $12,000 per year; that during the period in question claimant had received the sum of $50,000 for special gervices from the company; that the compensation allowed him as executor, was approximately ten per cent, of the amount distributed; and that in making the sale in question he had profited personally by receiving an enhanced price for the stock individually held by him. Held, the claim for additional compensation was properly refused.</p>