Policy
Topic:
Life Interest & Deferred Charges
Version Control
Version 1.0
Policy Owner
Retail
Date issued
Next review date
Revised by
Approval Authority
General Manager Retail
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Life Interest & Deferred Charges Policy
Purpose
The purpose of this document is to set out Public Trust’s approach and policy in relation to new Estates that
provide for a life interest or right of personal residence (
ROPR), for which Public Trust’s fees would usually
be deferred until the expiration of that right.
Policy
This policy applies to new Estate contracts that are opened after 14 August 2017, where a life interest or
ROPR is provided for within the Will.
Deferred charges are NOT to be provided in any circumstances for any client types.
Where a new life interest or ROPR would usually require the deferring of Public Trust’s fees, the Procedure
below must be applied. Public Trust must renounce if an agreement to pay Public Trust fees cannot be
reached.
Procedure
SCENARIO
PROCEDURE
1
Life interest or ROPR in house
Options:
only to spouse/partner/family
1. Residual beneficiaries agree to pay Public Trust fees
member, and either:
annually as invoiced (reflected in Plan of Administration
– insert new life interest/ROPR fees wording); OR
a) residue to
2. Residual beneficiaries agree to leave a sufficient reserve
spouse/partner/family
of cash funds in the Estate, to cover expected Public
member (i.e. the life
Trust fees; OR
tenant). Residuary
3. Residual beneficiaries pay a sum of money to the estate
beneficiaries are ultimate
(up to $20,000) to cover ongoing fees, and undertake to
beneficiaries of house; OR
top up the funds if the funds are subsequently depleted
and insufficient to pay fees.
b) residue (may be house
4. Life tenant agrees to pay Public Trust fees (effectively an
and/or other assets) to
interest free loan to the residual beneficiaries),
other beneficiaries
repayable to the life tenant’s Estate on death or to the
(children etc)
life tenant on surrender of life interest; OR
5. If unable to reach agreement to any of the above
options,
then Public Trust must renounce and the family
referred to the Executor Assist service to assist with
estate administration.
2
Life interest or ROPR in residue,
Fees payable from estate’s capital. Seek agreement in
including house and other
writing from residual beneficiaries that once the initial
assets such as cash investments
administration of the estate is completed and paid for from
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Life Interest & Deferred Charges Policy
residue, the ongoing Public Trust fees will be deducted
directly from the estate’s capital annually (reflected in Plan
of Administration – insert new life interest/ROPR fees
wording).
3
Life interest or ROPR in house
Fees payable from residue. To consider:
only, residue (may be house
1. Public Trust renounce in favour of family members
and/or other assets) to children
2. Deed of Family Arrangement – is it still a valid situation –
or other beneficiaries, most
what is value of house – if under rest home subsidy
likely in an amicable, close
threshold encourage this outcome.
family situation where, for
example Public Trust is not
Agree process and fee for all of above work.
adding value by continuing to
act as Trustee.
If none of these options are accepted, then seek upfront
deposit from beneficiaries (at a minimum, to cover probate,
estate establishment and transmission charges).
The four options above (in Scenario 1) then apply, should
the beneficiaries wish for us to continue as Executor and
Trustee.
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