Page 1865 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 19 August 1992
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assistance in dealing with estates is sound and appears to be commonsensical. I can only speculate that the reason the Act was initially drafted to exclude a partnership between the deceased's representative and a trustee company was to avoid confusion. These amendments will allow the executors of wills to seek help without having to surrender their control over the process. It is an issue of empowerment.
I admit to having been concerned, on my first reading of the Bill, at the provisions to allow estates to be billed by trustee companies on a fee for service basis. To quote the Minister's remarks during his speech introducing the Bill:
It is quite common, for instance, for a small estate to require a large amount of work in terms of ascertaining the financial position, contacting relatives and transferring assets. A larger estate, on the other hand, may have been kept in a very orderly manner ...
It therefore seemed, on the surface, that smaller estates would suffer, unless they were immaculately kept, because there would be fewer estate assets and less cash to offset the fees charged. It was not difficult to think of scenarios which would result in a net loss of estate assets, leading to debts incurred on the beneficiaries. In social justice terms, this seemed unfair, as many people do not consider their homes, cars and other assets to be items that need to be fully documented as to ownership. Many people, unless they are in business, do not feel that these matters are an issue, and there could be many cases where financial, banking, mortgage and other records were not kept properly, which could then mean a lot of work in ascertaining the exact financial position and right of title.
However, I have since taken these questions and concerns to the Attorney-General's Department and the trustee companies association, which both assure me that, on balance, under the amendment most estates will pay less in fees. The role of the Public Trustee was also pointed out to me. From my understanding, while the Public Trustee's Office does charge fees on a percentage basis, it can waive those fees after considering the impact of any fees charged against the estate. This means that relief exists for estates whose administration is conducted by the Public Trustee.
As I said earlier, I had reservations about the social justice aspects of this Bill before I sought clarification of them. But these have now been resolved. I am satisfied that in the majority of cases the new fee for service arrangement will result in a fair charge for administration costs against an estate, and in those cases where there is a large impost in fees relief is available through the Public Trustee's Office. It is now important that people who find themselves in the role of executor be given the information that they need in the simplest and most direct fashion, so that they can make an informed decision about what type of help, if any, they need when settling estates.
MR HUMPHRIES (5.28): Madam Speaker, the Opposition had considerable concerns about this Bill. A number of amendments were, I think, circulated on the last occasion we came to this place; but since then I have indicated that I am not going to proceed with those amendments, on the basis that I am assured by the Attorney that they are not necessary. But, again, we will watch that matter and see whether that turns out to be the case.
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