IMPORTANT REDUCTIONS

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 48, 25 August 1923, Page 8

IMPORTANT REDUCTIONS

PUBLIC TRUSTEE'S ADMINISTRATIONS

•"NOT AMASSING PROFITS."

Concessions of an imporlnl nature have been,decided upon by the Public Trust Office. Many ; classes of fees charged, in addition to commission for the administration of estates, have been abolished. In a statement on the position, the" Public Trustee states: "The principal aim of the Public Trust Ofjfice is to render efficient service to its clients and riot to amass profits, and whenever the surplus of revenue over expenditure has warranted the granting of concessions this has been done, either by increasing the return to beneficiaries on amounts held in the common fund, or by a reduction in the charges made for the administration of estates. In 1921 the rate of interest on amounts held in the common fund was raised and the methods under which the interest was computed were made more liberal. The value of the concessions then given to estates and beneficiaries was estimated at £57,000. ' , . '

"Many classes of fees charged by the Public Trustee in addition to the commission for the administration of estates have been abolished. Such fees include those charged for the opening of grants of administration,. the preparation and filing of stamp accounts, the supervision'of repairs to properties, the settlement of mortgages, the. registering of the Public Trustee's title to property, and the preparation of conditions of sale..

■ : "It has also been decided to abolish the charges made for the inspection of rural properties by the office rangers, except in very special cases where a charge may be warranted. "In future, the charges by way of commission may be said to practically cover the whole services of the office for the administration of 1 an estate, with the addition, of . course, of any actual out of pocket expenses incurred. Apart, from, the abolition - of' the special fees, the commission charged for the administration of estates, particularly those of substantial value, have been considerably reducect. The charges are based upon the realisation or transfer of assets in estates, or ■ upon the, collection of income. ••-...-■

. The following statement, will indicate the extent of. the reductions ■ now decided upon.:—Charges upon the Capital of Estates when Realised: The-commission charged on amounts from £5000 "to £10,000 has■been reduced from 2^ per cent, to lj per cent; the charge on amounts^ from £10,000 ; to £50,000 has been reduced-from li per cent, to 1 per cent.; the charge on amounts, in excess, of £50,000 has been : reduced from 1£ per cent, to | per cent..These reductions apply iii the case of any testate or intestate estates realised by the Public Trustee or any estate administered and. realised under The Lunatics Act, 1908, The' Mental Defectives Act, 1911, The Prisons. Act,.: 1908, The Aged' and Infirm Persons Protection Amendment Act, 1912, The Destitue Persons Act, 1910, and any other estate in respect to which the Public Trustee's charges on realisation . are ;not specifically. provided, f or.- --- " The charges have also been reduced in cases, where estates: are not, realised, but are transferred in kind to beneficiaries. The charge on the portion of the value from £5000 to. £10,000 .in such cases has been reduced from 1£ per cent, to.l per cent. The charge on the value in excess of £10,000 has been reduced from I per cent, to per cent. In each of v the following cases, namely:—(a) Where amounts realised by a former executor, trustee, or administrator ber come vested in the Public Trustee on the original trusts in the form of investments or cash; (b) in the case of a deed of trust or of a settlement ante-nuptial or otherwise where the trust property consists of cash; (c) where sums are received by the Public Trustee'under section 17 of the Public Trust Office Amendment Act, 1913, being the legacy or share due -to any infant paid over to the Public Trustee by any executar; (d) where an estate is administered by the Public Trustee in two capacities— e.g., as Statutory Committee of a mental patients estate and later as executor under-the will of the deceased patient, or where an estate consists of a share in another estate administered by the Public Trustee; the charge on amounts in excess of £50,000 has been reduced from 1 per cent, to £ per cent. Income Charges: The' commission charged on rent or on interest o n mortgages has been reduced from 5 per cent, to 2^ per cent, on amounts in excess of £5 per annum. The concessions apply not only to estates accepted for administration after the Ist April, 1923 but also to those which are under administration by the Public Ti-^tee on that date. The volume of business transacted by the Pubhc Trustee has: already assumed large proportions, the total value of assets and funds under, administration on 31st March,. 1923, being approximate^ £29,000,000. The wills held on A W? ng;testaters n^er ™c