We regularly hear complaints from people regarding the Public Trustee.
The damning Four Corners report on the ABC about “exorbitant fees” and “dire financial mismanagement” of public trustee services around Australia has led to announcements in Queensland that there will be ‘reviews’ of cases identified in the television report and into its Public Trustee’s practices and policies.
Those reviews will probably only benefit very few of the vast number of people who have experienced or are currently experiencing, problems with the Public Trustee.
What is the Public Trustee?
In Queensland, the Public Trustee is an authority established under Queensland legislation that provides financial, guardianship and trustee and estate administration services.
It is by no means a small operation. For example in the last financial year alone, the Public Trustee had just under $3 billion worth of assets under its management, it managed the finances of nearly 10,000 Queenslanders with impaired capacity and it became administrator of nearly 2,000 deceased estates.
A large part of its work comes from being nominated executor in Wills (presumably through its Will making service) and being appointed ‘by default’ where (eg) a person with severe cognitive impairment needs their financial affairs managed or where a deceased estate needs to be administered and there is no one else with authority to act or who is prepared to do so.
What are the most common complaints?
Many people feel powerless when it comes to dealing with the Public Trustee. Indeed, we’ve seen many instances where the simple matter of obtaining an update from the Public Trustee can be a long-drawn-out and frustrating exercise for the persons involved.
The most common complaints we see and hear about the Public Trustee mainly relate to its:
- its administration of deceased estates;
- its administration of finances of people with cognitive deficits; and
- guardianship matters.
Delays, a lack of communication, lack of consultation and unnecessary charges to an estate or trust are the most common concerns that we see or hear about the Public Trustee.
The Public Trustee does have its own internal complaints handling procedures and if unhappy with the outcome of that one can complain to the Queensland Ombudsman. It is rare that we must recommend someone to go down these paths.
Depending on the nature of the particular complaint, there are usually other ways of achieving a suitable (and quicker) resolution. The Public Trustee is not a law unto itself. It must abide by very specific duties as trustees/administrators/guardians. Usually, our first port of call (provided we believe the complaint is a valid one) is to write to the Public Trustee clearly setting out the nature of the concerns, the legal basis for why the complaint is justified and setting deadlines for responses. This type of approach will usually resolve the matter satisfactorily.
However, if after several attempts there is no response and/or the complaint remains unresolved, then in certain cases orders need to be sought from the Supreme Court or Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT), as the case may be.
Again, the nature of the complaint will determine what options are available in terms of resolving the matter.
Seeking relief from the Court or QCAT is rare. We might recommend that for instance if we believe there is a valid legal basis for the application, there are (at least) reasonable prospects of success and there is no other expedient and cost-efficient alternative to resolving the matter.
If you have problems with the Public Trustee regarding an administration, guardianship, estate or trust matter, contact us.
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