PUBLIC TRUST.

Hawera Star, Volume XLIX, 16 August 1929, Page 7

PUBLIC TRUST.

\ CHARGES REDUCED. IAJ V URT ANT C ONCESSIONS. The I s rime Minister (the Right Hon. Sir Joseph War) announces that important reductions in tne charges made tor legal and administration work perlormed in Hie Public Trust Oft ice will take effect a,? from July 1, 1929. “The work or the office.” said Sir Joseph, “has shown a remarkable expansion ill recent years, as the following figures demonstrate: In 1.91 I the; value of estates under administration totalled 612,282,883; in 1.919 6PJ,242,347; in 1924, 632,494.724; and 1.929, .648,334,799 “Un the 31st March, 1929, the business exceeded .648,999,969, representing almost a fourfold increase in the last, fifteen years.

“livery eftort is made to manage the office on an economical basis by the adoption of efficient methods of organisation and the application of business principles to every portion of the oiiieu work. Tints it has been possible to cope with the large amount of new business which has been forthcoming without incurring a corresponding increase m the expenses, whith have been kept at as low a ratio as possible to the total business transacted. “As the result of the economies I w hich have been introduced and the very gratifying increase in business,| it is now found possible to grant further valuable concessions to clients and beneficiaries of the office, and it is proposed to bring into effect a new scale of charge', for the preparation by the Public Trustee of mortgage documents in connection with loans granted from the Common Fund of the Public Trust Office, or from individual estates or funds under the Public Trustee’s administration, and to make important concessions in the administration of cases arising under the Workers’ Compensation Act. “A perusal of the new scale for the preparation of mortgage documents will isliow that valuable concessions \are granted to' borrowers of all classes, and that specially-reduced fees have been fixed m the case of loans not exceeding £2OOO. this being an amount sufficient to meet the normal needs of dwellers in the towns who desire to erect homos, or small farmers who require finance on their rural securities at reasonable rates. It is strongly felt that the maximum benefit of reduction should he enjoyed by those classes in the community who are least able to afford payment of expensive Ices. THE NEW SCALE. “The following statement affords a < ompari.T-un of the new scale of charges adopted by the Public Trust Office and the charges authorised under the scale .'approved by the New Zealand Law Society *

Amount of Loan.—-Cp to LIOO. 50 per cent, reduction on charges authorised by New Zealand Law Society’s scale: over ClOi.) up to L'soo. do per cent. ; over £SOO up to C'lOdi). 40 per cent. : over Cl01)0 up to £2OOO, 35 per cent; exceeding 02000, 83 1-3 per cent. “'Section 1 ()(j of the Public Trust Office Amendment Act. 1021-22. makes it illegal for any person to charge a procuration fee in obtaining a loan from the Public Trust Office. “The benefit of the reductions will also be enjoyed by borrowers from individual estates and superannuation funds under administration by the Public Trustee. “The reductions will be greatly appreciated by those persons who lind it necessary to raise loans on town or country properties, particularly those classes where financial needs are moderate in amount and who have hitherto fell t-he burden of heavy legal t hargevi in arranging their finance. The

preparation of the documents will be undertaken by tlie professional staff of the Public Trust Ob ice, and in view of the large amount of legal work transacted by the office, the charges made, though moderate in amount, will be sufficent to remunerate the office for the work done.

‘•Another important class of work in which concessions will be made to persons deserving of consideration is that relating to .workers' compensation cases. As is well known, the Public Trustee is frequently called on to, administer moneys received under "tlie Workers’ Compensation Act, and at present where such moneys arc held for administration in terms of any Court order they are subject to a

charge by way of commission at the rate of 2.V per cent,, but as from the Ist July next the charge will be reduced to 1 per cent. In by far the largest number of cases of this class the Public Trustee is administering the funds on behalf of the widow and dependants of deceased workers, and the concession now proposed will not only benefit tlie.se deserving persons, but will commend itself to the community generally. ‘ In connection with workers' compensation cases, the Public Trustee has frequently to purchase a house on behalf of the widow and children of a deceased worker, taking a mortgage back from the widow to secure the amount advanced, which is gradually liquidated by payments made for flic maintenance of the dependants. In future no. charge whatever will be made for the preparation of the necessarv deeds fo give effect to such

transactions, the whole cost being covered by the small charge of 1 per cent, made for the general administration of the compensation moneys. “Apart from those eases where moneys under the Workers’ Compensation Act are administered for the benelit of dependants, the Public Trustee is called upon to administer numbers of small estates where the beneficiaries are left in unfortunate financial circumstances. The minimum fee charged for the administration of such estates lias hitherto been tlu* sum of £‘3 3s. but it has now been decides;! that this fee shall be reduced to £2 2s. the benefit of the reduction beingmade available to those who participate in the distribution of the estates, PUEPARATION OF WILLS. “If has been the settled policy of the Public Trust Office to grant concessions to its clients and beneficiaries as the financial position of the office made such concessions possible. In recent years the rates of commission charged on both capital and interest in estates have been reduced, and many classes of fees charged by. the Public Trustee for special services, such as the obtaining 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, the preparation of conditions of sale, and in most cases the charges made for the inspection of rural properties by the office farm inspectors have been abolished. At the same time, the rates of interest, allowed on moneys held in tire Common .Fund

have been increased, and the interest has been calculated on a more liberal basis. The Public Trustee 'has for manv years past prepared tree of charge all wills in which he is appointed executor. As it has been sugnested in some quarters that the I üb]i? Trustee collects a charge for this work when the estate comes mto Ins hands for administration, the position will be made clear by the issue of a regulation to the effect that, the commission charged for the administration, of an estate shall he held to include the cost of preparation of the will, q'he right of any person to have l a "will appointing the Public Trustee executor prepared free of any charge will thus be fully established. “It is anticipated that with the further increase of business and bv careful and economical management additional concessions will become possible at n future dute. The office is assured of a large amount of future business in that the Public Trustee holds the wills of more than 63.(XX) living testators for safe custody under which he is appointed executor, these wills affecting assets of an estimated value of .£231.000.000. As it is known that manv other wills appointing the Publi • Trustee executor are held by solici-t-.irs. banks, and other institutions, the continuance of the growth which lias been so marked in recent years seems assured.’’