Australian Capital Territory Current Acts

ADMINISTRATION AND PROBATE ACT 1929 - SECT 88

    (1)     The Supreme Court may, on the application of the public trustee and guardian, grant to the public trustee and guardian an order to collect and administer the estate of any deceased person leaving real or personal estate within the jurisdiction in any of the following cases:

        (a)     if the deceased person leaves no executor, partner or next of kin, resident within the jurisdiction, willing and capable of acting in execution of his or her will or administration of his or her estate;

        (b)     if the executors named renounce probate of the will of the deceased person, and all the persons primarily entitled to administration by writing filed with the registrar decline to apply for administration;

        (c)     if probate or administration is not applied for within 3 months after the death of the deceased person;

        (d)     if, after the end of 30 days from the death there is no reasonable probability of application being made within that period of 3 months;

        (e)     if the estate or any part of the estate is liable to waste and the executor, any partner or the next of kin—

              (i)     is absent from the locality of the estate; or

              (ii)     is not known; or

              (iii)     has not been found; or

              (iv)     requests the public trustee and guardian in writing to apply for the order;

        (f)     if the estate, or any part of it, is—

              (i)     of a perishable nature; or

              (ii)     in danger of being lost or destroyed;

        (g)     if great expense may be incurred because of delay;

        (h)     if by the will of the deceased person the curator of estates of deceased persons or the public trustee and guardian is appointed to act.

    (2)     The Supreme Court may, in any case—

        (a)     require the public trustee and guardian to give the notices, produce the evidence, or do anything else, the court considers appropriate before granting the order applied for; or

        (b)     make a temporary order for collection or protection only or a temporary order limited to a part of the estate or otherwise.

    (3)     In this section:

"partner", in relation to a deceased person, has the same meaning as it has in part 3A (Intestacy) in relation to an intestate.