Trustee Companies Act 1968

This Act may be cited as the Trustee Companies Act 1968.

In this Act—administration with the will annexed includes administration with exemplification of probate or letters of administration with the will annexed or duplicate or copy probate of the will annexed.bank...bankers’ books...books includes any register or other record of information and any accounts or accounting records, however compiled, recorded or stored, and also includes any document.corporation...Court means the Supreme Court of Queensland.director...estate includes all real and personal property of whatever nature or kind committed to the administration or management of a trustee company.financial institution...financial institution’s books...foreign company...insurance company...Judge means a Judge of the Supreme Court.new trustee company...officer of the trustee company means the managing director, general manager, State manager, manager, acting manager, assistant manager or secretary of the trustee company and includes in relation to any purpose or purposes of this Act any other officer of the trustee company designated as such by the board of directors for that purpose or those purposes.probate includes ancillary probate.recognised company...registrar means the chief executive of the department.related corporation...trustee company means a licensed trustee company under the Corporations Act, section 601RAA.unincorporated association...will...

The powers conferred on trustee companies by this Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any powers conferred on trustee companies or on executors, administrators, trustees, receivers, committees, guardians, liquidators, official liquidators, guarantors or sureties or attorneys under any other Act or the Corporations Act.

Whenever a trustee company is named expressly or by implication either alone or jointly with any other person as executor of the last will of any testator (whether the will was made before or after the commencement of this Act) the trustee company may act as executor and may apply to the Court for probate of the will of the testator.

The Court may grant probate to the trustee company on an application pursuant to subsection (1).

Where a grant of probate is made to a trustee company pursuant to this section, the trustee company may perform and discharge all the acts and duties of an executor as fully and effectually as a private individual may do when appointed executor.

In all cases in which a private individual may apply for and obtain—

probate of the will without reserving leave to any other person to apply for probate; or

letters of administration with the will annexed of the estate;

of a deceased person, that individual may—

join with a trustee company in an application for—

in a case where the individual may apply for and obtain probate—a joint grant of probate to himself or herself and letters of administration with the will annexed to the trustee company; or

a grant of letters of administration with the will annexed to himself or herself and the trustee company jointly; or

instead of himself or herself applying, authorise a trustee company to apply for and obtain letters of administration with the will annexed unless the testator by will has expressed the desire that the office of executor should not be delegated or that the trustee company should not act in the trusts of the will.

Where—

a person joins with a trustee company in an application pursuant to subsection (1); or

a trustee company makes an application that it has, pursuant to that subsection been authorised to make;

the Court may make a joint grant of probate and letters of administration with the will annexed or a grant of letters of administration with the will annexed, as the case may be, in accordance with the application.

This section applies to wills whether made before or after the commencement of this Act.

Any person entitled to obtain administration of the estate of any intestate may—

join with a trustee company in an application for the grant of letters of administration of the estate to himself or herself and the trustee company jointly; or

instead of himself or herself applying—authorise a trustee company to apply for and obtain letters of administration of the estate.

Where—

a person joins with a trustee company in an application pursuant to subsection (1); or

a trustee company makes an application that it has, pursuant to that subsection been authorised to make;

the Court may grant letters of administration of the estate in accordance with the application.

This section applies whether the intestate died before or after the commencement of this Act.

Nothing in sections 6 and 7 shall be taken to prejudice or affect the right of any person interested in the estate of any deceased person (other than a person who has joined with a trustee company in, or has authorised a trustee company to make, an application under those sections) to apply for and obtain letters of administration, with or without the will annexed or other appropriate grant.

Any person named expressly or by implication as executor who would be entitled to obtain probate of the will of any testator may, instead of himself or herself applying for probate join with a trustee company in an application for letters of administration with the will annexed to be granted to the trustee company.

Where a person joins with a trustee company in an application pursuant to subsection (1), the Court may grant administration with the will annexed to the trustee company unless the testator by will has expressed the desire that the office of executor should not be delegated or that the trustee company should not act in the trusts of the will.

An application for a grant of letters of administration with the will annexed pursuant to this section may be made in the first instance to the Registrar of the Supreme Court who—

shall have power to make the grant; or

may refer any question arising upon the application to a Judge; or

may require the application to be made to the Court.

A grant of letters of administration with the will annexed under this section may be made to a trustee company notwithstanding that a person named expressly or by implication in the will as executor (other than the person joining with the trustee company in the application for the grant) has applied for and has been granted probate.

Where a grant of probate has been made to a person and a grant of letters of administration with the will annexed has been made to a trustee company under this section, that person and the trustee company shall administer the estate jointly.

A grant of letters of administration with the will annexed to a trustee company under this section may reserve leave for any person named expressly or by implication in the will as executor (other than the person joining with the trustee company in the application for the grant) to come in and apply for probate at any time subsequent to the grant.

This section applies to wills whether made before or after the commencement of this Act.

A person beneficially interested under the will is entitled to be heard in opposition to a grant being made under this section to a trustee company, and the Court after considering any objection by such a person may—

make a grant to the trustee company; or

upon the same application, grant probate to the person joining with the trustee company in the application.

Where the administration of any estate, with or without the will annexed, is granted to a trustee company, pursuant to this Act, the trustee company may perform and discharge all acts and duties which belong to the office of administrator or administrator with the will annexed, as the case may be, as fully and effectually as a private individual may do when granted such letters of administration.

A trustee company as attorney lawfully authorised for that purpose by the executor or administrator under any probate or letters of administration within the meaning of the British Probates Act 1898 granted by a court of probate in a part of Her Majesty’s Dominions to which that Act applies or by a British court in a foreign country within the meaning of that Act, may make application to a Registrar of the Court to seal the probate or letters of administration or an exemplification, duplicate or copy thereof under the said Act and the Registrar shall have authority to seal the grant in question or an exemplification, duplicate or copy thereof.

Where any person has died intestate or testate, whether in or out of Queensland and whether before or after the commencement of this Act, leaving property situated in Queensland, the gross value of which as estimated by any trustee company does not at the time of the election hereinafter mentioned exceed $100,000, and no person has taken out administration in Queensland, the trustee company, in any case where it would be entitled to obtain such a grant, may, in accordance with this section, instead of obtaining such a grant, file in the Court an election in writing, under the seal of the company, to administer the estate of the deceased person.

On any such election being filed, the trustee company shall be deemed to be the executor of the will or the administrator of the estate, as the case may be, in like manner and to the same extent in all respects as if administration had been duly granted to it.

Every such election shall set forth the name, residence, and occupation of the deceased so far as they are then known to the trustee company, and the date of the death of the deceased and the property situated in Queensland of the deceased as then known.

The election shall contain in every case where the deceased died intestate a statement to that effect, and in every case where the deceased died testate a statement that after due inquiries the trustee company believes that the document annexed to the election is the testator’s last will (or an exemplification thereof where administration has been granted out of Queensland) and that the will has been validly executed according to the law governing the execution of wills.

No such election may be filed under this section unless there is endorsed thereon a certificate by a solicitor (whether in the employment of the trustee company or not) that (as the case may require) the solicitor is satisfied that the Court would, on application duly made, grant to the trustee company—

probate of the will to which the election relates; or

letters of administration with the will to which the election relates annexed; or

letters of administration of the estate of the deceased person without a will annexed.

Any such election to administer shall be filed in any registry of the Court in which an application for a grant of administration of the will or estate of the deceased person may be filed.

If after filing any such election as aforesaid the gross value of the property situated in Queensland to be administered is found to exceed the sum of $120,000, the trustee company shall as soon as practicable thereafter file in the registry of the Court in which the election to administer was filed a memorandum under the seal of the trustee company stating the fact, and shall thereupon proceed in the ordinary manner to obtain a grant of administration in Queensland, and for that purpose may uplift from the Court any will or exemplification filed with the election.

Notice of an election under this section shall be advertised once in the gazette in a form approved by the person who for the time being holds the office of the registrar.

Where a grant of administration (the original grant) has been made in Queensland in respect of the estate of any deceased person (the original estate) and the persons to whom the original grant or any substituted grant of administration was made have died, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, leaving part of the original estate unadministered, and the gross value of the property situated in Queensland so left unadministered, as estimated by the trustee company at the time of the election hereinafter mentioned, does not exceed the sum of $100,000, and no person has since the death of the last administrator taken out letters of administration de bonis non in Queensland in respect of the original estate, the trustee company may, in accordance with this section, instead of applying for letters of administration de bonis non in Queensland, file in the registry of the Court out of which the original grant was issued an election in writing under the seal of the company setting forth the fact of the original grant, the death of the executors or other administrators, and the particulars of the property situated in Queensland so left unadministered, and electing to administer the part of the original estate so left unadministered.

On the election being filed, the trustee company shall be deemed to be administrator of the original estate left unadministered in like manner and to the same extent in all respects as if letters of administration de bonis non had been duly granted to it.

No such election may be filed under this section unless there is endorsed thereon a certificate by a solicitor (whether in the employment of the trustee company or not) that the solicitor is satisfied that the Court would, on application duly made, grant to the trustee company letters of administration de bonis non in respect of the part of the original estate so left unadministered.

If after the filing of any such election the gross value of the property situated in Queensland to be administered by the trustee company is found to exceed the sum of $120,000, the trustee company shall, as soon as practicable thereafter, file in the said registry of the Court a memorandum under the seal of the trustee company stating the fact, and shall thereupon proceed in the ordinary manner to obtain in Queensland letters of administration de bonis non (either with or without the will annexed, as the case may be) in respect of the said estate, and for that purpose may uplift from the Court any will or exemplification filed with the election.

Notice of an election under this section shall be advertised once in the gazette in a form approved by the person who for the time being holds the office of the registrar.