In re Estate of Reeder, 2023 IL App (3d) 210361

Decedent Ronald A. Reeder died in 2014 leaving a $3+ million residuary estate to 27 charities; Gery R. Gasick was the decedent’s attorney, agent under a POA, and named executor.
The will authorized independent administration and broadly permitted the executor to act without court order, but did not expressly address predeath POA claims by the executor.
As executor, Gasick paid himself approximately $119,000 in attorney fees and about $51,000 for services he rendered predeath as the decedent’s POA agent.
A charity objected to the final report; the Illinois Attorney General intervened. Independent administration was terminated and the trial court required fuller accounting and contemporaneous billing records.
After initial hearings the trial court ordered refunds for some attorney/executor overcharges but did not resolve the $51,000 POA fees; this court remanded to determine whether those POA fees required filing a statutory claim during the claims period.
On remand the parties agreed the $51,000 was for predeath POA work and was not filed as a claim. The trial court held the fees were barred for failure to file and ordered refund; it also (erroneously) ordered a $600 refund for an unbilled item. The appellate court affirmed the POA ruling but reduced the required refund by $600.

Issue	Gasick’s Argument	AG’s Argument	Held
Whether executor may pay himself predeath POA fees from the estate without filing a statutory claim during the claims period (given will language and §28-8)	Will’s independent-administration language and §28-8 authorize an executor to pay himself for POA services without filing a claim; the will overrides any contrary filing requirement	§§18-8 and 28-8 require claims by a representative or the representative’s attorney to be filed like other claims so the court can protect beneficiaries and appoint a special administrator if needed; a will cannot nullify statutory protections	The court held the statutes required filing; because Gasick failed to file, his POA claim was barred and he must refund the ~$51,000 to the estate.
Whether the trial court erred by ordering Gasick to reimburse $600 for work on Oct. 20, 2014 that was never billed or paid	Trial court order was erroneous because the estate was not billed and did not pay that $600	AG agreed the $600 reimbursement was erroneous	The appellate court corrected the judgment to remove the $600 reimbursement requirement.

Adams v. Northern Illinois Gas Co., 211 Ill. 2d 32 (Illinois Supreme Court) (summary judgment standard and de novo review on appeal)
Gaffney v. Board of Trustees of the Orland Fire Protection District, 2012 IL 110012 (Illinois Supreme Court) (statutory interpretation and deference to plain language)
Blum v. Koster, 235 Ill. 2d 21 (Illinois Supreme Court) (consider statute in entirety to ascertain legislative intent)
Home Insurance Co. v. Cincinnati Insurance Co., 213 Ill. 2d 307 (Illinois Supreme Court) (affirmation that appellate court may affirm summary judgment on any basis supported by the record)
In re Estate of Overturf, 353 Ill. App. 3d 640 (Ill. App. Ct.) (will interpretation: ascertain testator’s intent from the will as a whole)
In re Estate of Nonnast, 300 Ill. App. 537 (Ill. App. Ct.) (assertion of a lien is not equivalent to filing a claim against an estate)