Greg and Linda are in their 60’s and have three children. They own two properties and wisely decide to make wills. They are aware that they can have their wills prepared by the Public Trustee for “free”. They make an appointment to have their wills drafted and later attend another appointment to execute their wills.
When Greg dies, Linda takes his will to a local solicitor. She is the sole beneficiary and tells the solicitor that she wants to sell the investment property that is held in Greg’s sole name. She has found a purchaser and wishes to act quickly. Unfortunately, Linda is informed that Greg’s will appoints the Public Trustee (now known as the NSW Trustee and Guardian) as executor and therefore Greg’s estate will need to be administered by the NSW Trustee and Guardian.
This is right. While there was no fee charged at the time, the drafting of the will was done on the condition that the Public Trustee was appointed as executor. This means that Linda will have to pay a sizeable commission to the Public Trustee which is much more than the costs that would have been incurred if Linda was appointed as executor and had retained a private solicitor.
The Public Trustee also has a policy that estates are not finalized until 6 months after the date of death to protect them from any creditors that may come forward within this time. This delay means that the potential purchasers look at buying elsewhere. The cost and delay involved in the Public Trustee administering the estate causes Linda a great deal of stress and financial hardship.
Linda has since executed a new will, removing the Public Trustee as her executor and appointing her three kids equally. She is comforted by the fact that her estate will ultimately be administered in a much cheaper and more timely fashion and that her children’s inheritances will not be unnecessarily diminished.
In differing circumstances, the appointment of the Public Trustee as executor can sometimes be a prudent choice. This column cannot be relied upon as legal advice.
Suggested break-out: “She is comforted by the fact that … her children’s inheritances will not be unnecessarily diminished.”
