AGY-29 | Curator of Intestate Estates

Full description

An Act for the Better Preservation and Management of the Estates of Deceased Persons in Certain Cases, 1847 (11 Vic. Act no.24) created the position of Curator of Intestate Estates,(1) responsible for the collection, management and administration of intestate estates. (2) However, with the myriad of duties that the Registrar had to perform, this caused inevitable inefficiency. On 1 March 1856 a Rule of Court appointed the prothonotary, formerly termed the Registrar, as Curator of Intestate Estates.(3) Under the Wills, Probate and Administration Act, 1898 [Act No 13, 1898], the property of a deceased person was vested in the Chief Justice until probate, administration or an order to collect was granted. (4) The Curator of intestate estates could assume the responsibility of administering an estate if: * the deceased was intestate and had no direct heirs, * the executors named renounced probate, * there was no application for probate within three months of death, * an estate was likely to waste and executors or next of kin could not be found, was outside the jurisdiction or applied to the Curator to manage the estate, * delay in administering would cause expense or where the testator had appointed the Curator to act. The Curator in these cases had all the rights of an executor or relative of the deceased appointed in the will. (5) The Curator could also be called upon to administer, manage and discharge the debts and liabilities of any person presumed dead and either intestate or whose will could not be located. In this case the Curator was required to await a court order prior to distribution of the estate. (6) This followed newspaper advertisements in the vicinity of the person's residence and, if relevant, in the country where the person's next of kin may live. (7) Real estate and other property could be sold after the expiry of a reasonable time had elapsed for the beneficiaries to be located, and money was to be invested in the Suitors' Fund or as directed by the Colonial Treasurer. (8) The Curator and his staff were not personally liable for any decisions and actions taken in conjunction with administering estates. (9) The Supreme Court could rule for the return of money subsequently claimed by rightful beneficiaries.(10) The Public Trustee Act , 1913 (Act No 19, 1913) abolished the office of Curator of Intestate Estates (11) and established the office of the Public Trustee. (12) The functions of the Curator were taken over by the Public Trustee from 1 January 1914. FOOTNOTES (1) Intestate Estates Act, 1847 s. 1 (2) Ibid s. 2, 3 (3) Rules of Court. Officers and Practice Generally , No III, 1 March. 1856 reproduced in Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly 1856-57 vol 1, p. 896 (4) Wills, Probate and Administration Act, 1898, s. 61 (5) Ibid ss 116 - 117 (6) Ibid s. 120 (7) Ibid s. 122 (8) Ibid s. 132 (9) Ibid s. 133 (10) Ibid s. 137 (11) Public Trustee Act, 1913 S. 4 (12) Ibid. s. 5 REFERENCES (1) "Concise Guide" 2nd Edition. "Q - Sup", "Curator of Intestate Estates under Supreme Court" p.49. (2) Public Service List, 1856 - 1914. (3) Bennett, J.M. "A History of the Supreme Court of New South Wales" Sydney, Law Book Company, 1974 Chapter 8 - The Probate Jurisdiction