LIVE ON RADIO 4CRB: Wills & Estates Senior Associate Debbie Sage will join Robyn Hyland to talk about the importance of planning for end-of-life care and what options are available.
With one of the largest and most experienced Wills and Estates departments in Australia, our compassionate team are ready to assist you with all matters relating to Wills, estate planning, estate administration and estate litigation. We are here to help you plan for your future and ensure your family’s interests and your estate are protected.
At Attwood Marshall Lawyers, we recognise the complexity of succession law and are highly reputed in the legal industry for our expertise in estate litigation. Our dedicated team practice exclusively in elder law and inheritance disputes and it is our renowned intent to help people battling these contentious issues.
When you are facing contentious family issues, we understand the stakes are high and how important it is to have the best family lawyer on your side. You are going through one of life’s toughest fights and what you need is considered legal action by a family lawyer who knows that your children and your home are the most important things to you.
Being involved in a dispute can be a very stressful experience, both emotionally and financially. If you find yourself in this situation, it is important to seek legal advice as quickly as possible. Like most problems, it is in our nature to push difficult issues aside and simply hope they go away. Sometimes the problem is not as serious as you think and can be dealt with quite easily with some help from an experienced dispute resolution lawyer who knows what they are doing.
Reliable and expert legal advice can make or break a successful property transaction. The right advice can even allow you to negotiate a better deal. Attwood Marshall Lawyers highly experienced property and conveyancing team ensure new home buyers and property investors receive the most professional property law services when purchasing real estate.
Our business lawyers have a wealth of local knowledge to be able to provide legal advice enabling successful business planning, operation, and succession.
With one of the largest and most experienced Wills and Estates departments in Australia, our compassionate team are ready to assist you with all matters relating to Wills, estate planning, estate administration and estate litigation. We are here to help you plan for your future and ensure your family’s interests and your estate are protected.
At Attwood Marshall Lawyers, we recognise the complexity of succession law and are highly reputed in the legal industry for our expertise in estate litigation. Our dedicated team practice exclusively in elder law and inheritance disputes and it is our renowned intent to help people battling these contentious issues.
When you are facing contentious family issues, we understand the stakes are high and how important it is to have the best family lawyer on your side. You are going through one of life’s toughest fights and what you need is considered legal action by a family lawyer who knows that your children and your home are the most important things to you.
Being involved in a dispute can be a very stressful experience, both emotionally and financially. If you find yourself in this situation, it is important to seek legal advice as quickly as possible. Like most problems, it is in our nature to push difficult issues aside and simply hope they go away. Sometimes the problem is not as serious as you think and can be dealt with quite easily with some help from an experienced dispute resolution lawyer who knows what they are doing.
Reliable and expert legal advice can make or break a successful property transaction. The right advice can even allow you to negotiate a better deal. Attwood Marshall Lawyers highly experienced property and conveyancing team ensure new home buyers and property investors receive the most professional property law services when purchasing real estate.
Our business lawyers have a wealth of local knowledge to be able to provide legal advice enabling successful business planning, operation, and succession.
Have you had problems dealing with the QLD Public Trustee or NSW Public Trustee and Guardian?
Our experienced Estate Litigation Lawyers can help you remove the Public Trust Office and seek compensation for the mismanagement of your financial affairs, or that of a loved one.
Public Trustee Offices perform certain roles in our community, including acting as executor or administrator of deceased estates and managing the financial affairs of vulnerable individuals who are incapable of managing their own affairs.
It is our experience that the general public places blind trust in Public Trustee Offices due to the public nature of these organisations. Unfortunately, these government organisations do not always provide the expected service or fulfil their fiduciary duties, leaving individuals and their families feeling frustrated, deflated, and devastated. It’s important for the community to understand there are alternative options available when seeking assistance with drafting a Will, executor services, financial administration, establishing and managing trusts.
If you or a loved one has suffered under the management of the Public Trustee, it is possible to remove the Public Trustee, and seek compensation for what has been done to you.
Our team are always available to discuss your unique situation and help you understand what options may be available.
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To find out more about resolving public trustee disputes, provide your details below and our Information Pack will be sent to your inbox.
Did you see ABC’s Four Corners Investigation of the Public Trustee?
On Monday 14th March 2022, ABC’s flagship investigative program, Four Corners, aired “State Control: Australians trapped, stripped of assets and silenced”.
The report investigated the stories of Australians who say they have been virtually abducted by the state, stripped of their assets and stopped from speaking out.
You can see Attwood Marshall Lawyers Legal Practice Director, Jeff Garrett, in the report. He comments on the Public Trustee’s mismanagement in relation to people’s affairs, the conflict of interest in relation to dealing with the funds of the people they manage, and the exorbitant fees the Public Trustee charge clients under their management.
“By definition, they are only acting for vulnerable people because those people have lost the capacity to handle theirown affairs. And that’s where it gets really sticky because they owe those people a fiduciary duty, a statutory duty to do the best thing by them and look after their affairs. And they’re failing miserably in relation to that issue,” explains Jeff Garrett.
The Public Trustee and Guardian are statutory agencies established to “protect, promote and support the rights, dignity, choices and wishes” of those vulnerable members in our society who have impaired decision-making capacity. Public Trust Offices are statutory bodies created to provide services to assist those who are more vulnerable in our society. Some examples of the services offered by Public Trust Offices can range from:
Acting as an Executor of an estate
Being appointed as Financial Manager of someone who may not have capacity to manage their own financial affairs. In New South Wales, this appointment is called Financial Manager, in Queensland this appointment is referred to as an Administrator.
Being appointed as a Trustee –if someone is unable to manage their finances –such as a minor, the Public Trustee can be appointed to manage investments, allocate allowances and manage trust funds.
There is a general assumption within the community that the QLD Public Trustee and NSW Public Trustee and Guardian are the most suitable and accessible options. Many people do not realise that there are several alternatives, including professionals and Private Trustee Companies, who can administer deceased estates and manage protected estates/conduct the role of trustee.
Generally speaking, yes, you can apply to a Court or Tribunal to remove the Public Trust Office from some roles such as the role of Financial Manager (NSW) or Administrator (QLD) for someone who may not have capacity to manage their own financial affairs. Usually, this involves applying to have the Public Trustee Office removed and replaced by a Private Trustee Company or Individual (if appropriate).
An application for a substitute decision-maker can be made to a Tribunal or a Court. If the incoming Financial Manager seeks to be paid (such as in the case with a Private Trustee company) the application must be made to the Court to seek the removal of a Public Trust Office from the role of Financial Manager and the appointment of the new Private Trustee. The reason a Court application is required, as opposed to an application through the Tribunal, is because when there is payment involved the Court essentially needs to approve it.
The following process will apply when removing the appointment of the Public Trustee in Court:
Seeking out an appropriate incoming Financial Manager and making sure they are a fit for the individual and their family
Making an application to the Court
Providing evidence before the Court in relation to:
The individual’s capacity to manager his or her financial affairs
Evidence from any family member about their opinion of the current situation. The Court wants to know the family is supportive of the application
Why there has been some difficulties and why the relationship with the Public Trust Office has deteriorated
Evidence of the suitability of the incoming Private Trustee Company
Financial reports in relation to the individual’s financial affairs and the nature of their protected estate
As the individual who is the subject of the application usually does not have legal capacity, any person “having a sufficient interest in the matter” may make the application to the Court. This would usually be a parent, husband or wife, or close family member who is concerned about the current situation.
Another function promoted by the Public Trustee Offices is to act as executor in the estates of people who make their Wills at the office of the Public Trustee.
An executor is the appointed representative of a deceased person who is responsible for obtaining Probate of the Will and administering the estate (i.e. calling in the assets and distributing to the beneficiaries). Although the Public Trustee Offices may offer to make a Will free of charge, these organisations have a significantly high set of fees and charges that they are entitled to be paid out of the estate after the person dies and the estate is administered. The fee structure of the Public Trustee Office is often complicated and difficult to understand. These fee structures usually include an ability to charge a fee based on a percentage of the value of the assets in the estate, and not the actual work undertaken by the executor in administering the estate.
In our experience, the Public Trustees entice people in with free or inexpensive Wills and charge exorbitant fees when the person dies, and their estate is administered.
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