Public Trustee and Guardian Act 1985

This section applies if—

before a person dies, the public trustee and guardian holds an amount or personal property for the person; and

on the person’s death, the total of the amount and the value of the personal property as estimated by the public trustee and guardian is not more than $20 000; and

the public trustee and guardian has no knowledge of an application for probate of the person’s will or for letters of administration of the person’s estate.

The public trustee and guardian may pay the amount, and transfer the personal property, to a person the public trustee and guardian considers is entitled to the amount or property (the entitled person) without proof of the entitled person having obtained probate of the deceased person’s will or administration of the deceased person’s estate.

For subsection (2), the public trustee and guardian may require the entitled person to give an undertaking that the amount or personal property will be administered by the entitled person for the deceased person’s estate.

It is an offence to make a false or misleading statement, give false or misleading information or produce a false or misleading document (see Criminal Code, pt 3.4).

An amount paid, or personal property given, under subsection (2) is taken to have been paid to the deceased person’s estate.

This section does not affect any right of a person to claim or recover an amount paid, or personal property given, under subsection (2) from a person other than the public trustee and guardian.