Re Saunders

The application by the Public Trustee of Queensland was brought to seek orders to determine the fate of surplus funds resulting from the sale of a property mortgaged by the deceased, Bruce James Saunders. The deceased had mortgaged his property to Perpetual Trustee Company Limited, which, after the deceased's death and the mortgage falling into default, sold the property. After settling the secured debt and expenses, a surplus of $34,441.83 was held by Perpetual. The deceased had left his estate to Sharon Graham, who was later convicted of his murder. Consequently, Perpetual paid the surplus funds into court, and the Public Trustee was appointed to administer the estate. The Public Trustee now seeks orders to release the surplus funds to them and to have their costs paid from the estate.

The court was required to decide whether the surplus funds should be released to the Public Trustee as the administrator of the deceased’s estate, and whether the application should proceed without an oral hearing. The court noted that Rule 489 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (UCPR) allows for applications to be decided without an oral hearing unless certain conditions are met, none of which applied in this case. The court considered whether it was appropriate to determine the matter without an oral hearing. The court found no reason to render it inappropriate to proceed without an oral hearing. Regarding the release of funds, the court held that the Public Trustee, as the administrator of the estate, had the right to the possession of the funds. Payment to the Public Trustee would not prejudice any claim Sharon Graham might have to an equitable interest in the property.

The court concluded that it was appropriate to determine the application on the written submissions without an oral hearing. It ruled that the Public Trustee, as the administrator of the estate, is entitled to the money paid into court. The court ordered the Chief Executive to pay the money to the Public Trustee from the Court Suitors Fund and that the Public Trustee's costs be paid from the deceased's estate on the indemnity basis.