Public Trustee appointed to protect elderly woman’s estate after huge transfer to son

A tribunal has urgently intervened after an elderly Tasmanian woman’s life savings – almost $220,000 – was transferred into her son’s account. What the tribunal decided >>

A tribunal has urgently intervened after an elderly Tasmanian woman’s life savings were transferred into her son’s account.

A tribunal has urgently intervened in the case of an elderly Tasmanian woman, after the bulk of her life savings – almost $220,000 – was transferred into her son’s account.

In a recently-published decision, the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal made an emergency administration order for the 85-year-old woman, who suffers from a cognitive impairment, “to ensure her estate is protected”.

Tribunal member Virginia Jones appointed the Public Trustee to “do what is necessary to investigate the possible misappropriation of funds” from the woman’s estate, recover those funds, and protect the balance for her use.

The orders have come after an urgent application from one of the woman’s other sons.

That man said his brother was unemployed, in “financial difficulty”, and had organised for $219,000 from their mother’s online savings account to be transferred into his account to pay off his debts.

The man said his mother told him “not to worry, the money is safe and she can access it any time”, but her family was concerned she had “been influenced into a transaction that she does not fully understand and (her other son) may have unduly influenced her thinking on this”.

“(Her son) is in financial distress and (our) family doubts he has any capacity to repay it,” the man said.

The man also said their mother had refused to provide the son with large sums of money in the past due to his “track record” of investing in high-risk shares and other options that had led to his current financial woes.

He said his brother had been struggling to pay basic living costs and had sought help from his family to cover his bills, with a debt related to “unsuccessful investments in the stock market that he had been struggling to pay”.

However, the son in question told the tribunal his mother had loaned money to him to help him retain his home, and in recognition of the “significant ongoing help and support he has provided to her”, including having her stay with him.

He said the financial arrangement with his mother recognised there were “virtues and values such as relationships, love, kindness and support for each other, which transcend mere crass money-making and attempts of profit maximisation in family arrangements”.

The son said it was a “win-win” solution, as by keeping his home, he could provide alternative accommodation for his mother if she needed it.

The tribunal was told by medical witnesses the woman had a cognitive impairment, memory loss, and needed help with legal and financial matters.

The Public Trustee was appointed as administrator of the woman’s estate for a month, and will report back to the tribunal as to whether further orders are needed.

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