Circumstances where public trustee may execute transfer for another
62 Circumstances where public trustee may execute transfer for another
Where the public trustee is satisfied that the owner (which term in this section includes a person entitled, subject to conditions which have been fulfilled, to become the owner) of any land, including an interest in land held under lease or licence from the Crown, has sold the same but has not executed a proper or sufficient transfer of such land or of such lease or licence in form required by law, or that such transfer has been executed but has been lost, destroyed or is otherwise unavailable, and that such owner—
is absent from Queensland; or
is dead and the owner’s estate has not been administered or, so far as it appears to the public trustee, there is no person currently acting in the administration of the estate; or
is a person as to whom it is not known whether the person is alive or dead; or
can not be found; or
is a corporation or company which has ceased to exist or, in the opinion of the public trustee, has ceased to function; or
is, in the opinion of the public trustee, for any other reason, unable, or unavailable to execute such transfer;
and, so far as the public trustee can ascertain, there is no person in Queensland authorised to execute such transfer, the public trustee may, if the public trustee considers it reasonable to do so, after giving such public notice (if any) of the public trustee’s intention so to do as the public trustee thinks proper—
upon proof to the public trustee’s satisfaction of the payment of the whole of the purchase money; or
upon the payment to the public trustee of such amount as the public trustee is satisfied is the whole of the money outstanding in regard to the purchase money;
execute a transfer in proper or sufficient form as aforesaid for and on behalf of such owner, and the transfer so executed shall have the same effect in all respects as if it had been executed by such owner.
The production of the transfer executed by the public trustee shall be sufficient authority to any person in possession of instruments of title to such land to deliver the same to the transferee; and upon application to it the court may order any such person to deliver such instruments of title to the transferee on production of the transfer and on payment of all proper charges (if any).
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (1) and (2), as between any person entitled to receive payment of the purchase moneys and any person liable to make such payment, any amount payable at the time of execution by the public trustee of the transfer (over and above the amount (if any) paid to the public trustee under this section) to any person entitled to the payment of the purchase moneys shall continue to be a debt due to such person.
In this section—transfer includes a conveyance, assurance or other instrument transferring, conveying or assuring title.
Moneys paid to the public trustee pursuant to subsection (1) shall be held by the public trustee in trust for the vendor of the land or other person entitled thereto.
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