Australian Capital Territory Consolidated Acts

PUBLIC TRUSTEE ACT 1985 - SECT 29A

    (1)     This section applies if—

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

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

        (c)     the public trustee has no knowledge of an application for probate of the person's will or for letters of administration of the person's estate.

    (2)     The public trustee may pay the amount, and transfer the personal property, to a person the public trustee 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.

    (3)     For subsection (2), the public trustee may require the entitled person to give an undertaking, whether by statutory declaration or otherwise, that the amount or personal property will be administered by the entitled person for the deceased person's estate.

Note     The Statutory Declarations Act 1959 (Cwlth) applies to the making of statutory declarations under ACT laws.

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

    (5)     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.