PUBLIC TRUST OFFICE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 61, 11 September 1939, Page 4

PUBLIC TRUST OFFICE

INCREASED BUSINESS FOR YEAR, v ' The report on the working of the Public Trust Office for the year ended March .31, 1939 was recently laid before Parliament. A pleasing feature of the year's operations has been the increase recorded in the new business reported to the Public Trustee for administration. In both the number of'estates 3089, and the value of the busi'ness, £6,314,532 j there was a marked advance over the figures for the preceding year, when 2934 estates and funds of. a total value of £5 966 : 359 were accepted for administration. The aggregate value of the estates and funds under administration on March 31, 1939, was £61,715.713, ?.s compared with £60.815,306 at the close of the previous year, an increase of £900,407. The expansion of the Public Trust Office over the past twenty years Is shown by the following table, giving the value of the business under administratipn and the number of wills on deposit at 10-yearly intervals:—t No. of Wills Value of Estates of Living and Funds un- Person's heid der Administration, on Deposit 1919 19242,347 24,237 1929 48.334,790 62.841 1939 93i152 The total number of estates .and funds under administration at the close of the jtear was 19,224. of art aggregate value of £61,715,713. Altherefore, the administration of many estates was completed during the year, there was an increase? in both the number and value of estates remaining under administra-> tion at the end of the year. There are many cases where the! Public Trustee is required to supervise the administration of private persons of the estates of mental' patients N and aged and infirm persons. In other cases the duties a?-?*! not of an active character—e.g. ? trusteeships for debenture holders. By including these figures the value of the estates a.*>l funds under administration at the close of the year would be increased by £1,830.802. The fact that the Public Trustee specialises in the making of wills and offers this service free of charge to persons desiring new wills prc_ pared or old wills revised where the Public Trustee is appointed executor* is reflected in the continued increase in the number of will? received. In the past year 4919 wills appointing the Public Trustee executor or [trustee were deposited by testators, representing a substantial increase over the corresponding figure of 4502 for the previous year. The majority of the wills were prepared by titer office. The number of wills withdrawn, during the year through the death of testators or otherwise 2241. At the close of the year were 93,152 wills -on showing a substantial increase of 2678 over the number at the beginning of the year, which itself constituted a record in the history of the office.