Latest news with #PublicTrustee
ABC News
03-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Millions in unclaimed deceased estates transferred to Queensland government as beneficiaries unable to be found
Millions of dollars in deceased estates have gone to the Queensland government in recent years after authorities were unable to find a beneficiary to inherit the money. Between 2020 and 2024, the Public Trustee transferred $2.95 million from ten estates to Queensland Treasury, with the funds put into consolidated revenue. Most of the funds came from a single estate worth $2 million that was given to the state government in 2021. The Queensland Public Trustee's office said funds could be transferred to the state when potential beneficiaries had died before the owner of the deceased estate. It can also happen when a beneficiary is identifiable but cannot be tracked down. When this occurs, the Public Trustee holds onto the funds for six years to allow potential claimants to come forward or be located. Public Trustee Samay Zhouand said his organisation did the "utmost within its powers" to find beneficiaries of deceased estates before transferring them to treasury. "Should a beneficiary emerge in the future, those funds remain available without time limit to those beneficiaries to claim," he said. The Succession Act in Queensland dictates who inherits what, including in circumstances when a person has not left a will. This is known as dying in intestate, with the deceased's estate distributed to next of kin in line with the Act. But it cannot go to relatives who are more remote than first cousins. The former Labor government began a review of the Succession Act in 2023, but did not finish it before leaving office. A spokesperson for the new Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said she had requested a comprehensive briefing of the review. The former government outlined a range of possible changes in a discussion paper. This included essentially banning adult children from contesting their parents' will if the estate is worth less than $250,000, as well as changing the definition of a spouse. Angela Cornford-Scott, who is chair of the Queensland Law Society's succession law committee, said the process of creating a straightforward will was not difficult or overly expensive. "If the people make a will and they don't have family members, they can at least direct their entitlements to friends or to charities where that money could actually do some good," she said. Ms Cornford-Scott pointed out if someone died without a will and did not have a spouse or children their estate could go to their parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, or cousins. She said in her career she had dealt with four or five cases where genealogists had to be engaged to identify the family tree. "Although four or five might not sound like a lot over a 25 year career, you remember them because they are so difficult and so unnecessarily complex and expensive," she said. Ms Cornford-Scott also said the Succession Act should be modernised, noting "things have changed dramatically" since it was created in 1981.
News.com.au
12-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Unliveable city cottage sold sight unseen for $1.5m
An unliveable cottage in a major Aussie city has sold sight unseen for $1.5 million, complete with caution tape across its entrance. Located in the sought-after suburb of Auchenflower in Brisbane, the delapidated home on a 574sq m block was sold at auction by the Public Trustee on May 9. The listing warned that no internal inspections were premitted due to the state of the house, with photos showing a precarious front staircase and wire fencing with caution tape. 'This circa-1920s character cottage sits on an elevated 574sq m block in the heart of Auchenflower,' the listing says. 'This position offers the best of both worlds, leafy suburban living just minutes from the city.' It features high ceilings throughout and original VJs;, but the house is in 'desperate need of some love and attention'. It features four bedrooms, an original kitchen, bathroom and undercroft area that would house one car. 'The opportunity is there for you to renovate, raise or extend all subject to the right Council approvals,' the listing says, noting it is character zoned. 'You simply have to look at the neighbouring properties for ideas and inspiration of what this amazing home could become,' the listing says. In other words, the house cannot be demolished so its new owners have their work cut out to get the residence back to a habitable state. The kitchen features cobwebs and manky floors, as does the bathroom, which has looks like its very own biohazard. The carpet in the bedrooms and living areas must go, while the blackened ceilings pose their own challenges. But in a competitive market, where the median house price in Auchenflower is $1,677,500, up 11.8 per cent in 12 months and 53.9 per cent since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is no shortage of buyers. Recent sales in Auchenflower include a four bedroom home on a 408sq m block which sold for $1.35 million in April, and a three bedroom character Queenslander which sold for $1.725 million in March. Both were in much better condition that the delapidated cottage. Auchenflower is a riverside suburb and one of Brisbane's most tightly-held locations just 4km to the CBD.
