Harry Bloomfield grunted in
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I simply agreed a flat fee to be paid to me, for all the time and
effort involved in doing the work, of a donation of £500 by the other
two benefactors. I could have allowed the solicitors to handle it and
they would have been entitled to up to 25% of the value of the estate,
which would have wiped out all or most of the cash assets and the two
got nothing. So for the grand sum of £1000, they got a bargain.

Seems a very reasonable way forward to me and I don't doubt the other
beneficiaries agree - that said, as a non-professional executor you aren't
actually allowed to charge expenses for your time in doing the job (which I
think is what you're saying happened). If the others had got stroppy they
could have demanded a full breakdown of the £1000, and declined to cover
anything not a genuine out-of-pocket expense.

David