Claiming expenses
Unless your Executor is performing their role in a legal professional capacity, they cannot charge for their time or services.
They may, however, be able to recover from your estate any reasonable expenses they incur in the course of their duties as your Executor. The range of expenses that can be recovered is very limited and must be costs which:
would not have arisen were they not acting as your Executor
only cover the Executor themselves.
An example would be travel costs incurred by your Executor in the course of their duties, but they could not claim for their spouse making the same journey.
In contrast, if you appoint a professional (such as a solicitor) as your Executor, they will be entitled to a reasonable rate of compensation for the work they carry out. You should ask them what the estimated cost to your estate will be before you appoint them in your Will. It is quite usual for them to ask you to sign an agreement that their costs can be paid from your estate when the time comes.
Even if your Will does not specifically allow professional Executors to be remunerated, they will still be entitled to receive reasonable compensation if this is agreed in writing by all of your non-professional Executors. This is regardless of whether the services were capable of being provided by someone with no professional experience.
Applying for probate
When your personal representatives are applying for probate they will need to:
pay a fee on application
confirm and know both the net value and the gross value of an estate for both IHT and probate purposes.
know the net qualifying value of your estate;
where they are claiming the nil rate band they will need to confirm this also.
Estate accounts
Your personal representative should also always prepare what are known as estate accounts or an 'Estate and Distribution Account' which sets out all monies that have been received into an estate during the probate administration process and those that have been paid out. It should be a whole, true and very detailed picture of the estate from the date of death through to the resulting administration.