THE PUBLIC TRUSTEE

• Author: EMILY WILFRED
• Citation: (1989) 1 SAcLJ 29
• Date: 01 December 1989
• Published date: 01 December 1989

The post held by the Public Trustee (“P.T.”) Office has often been overshadowed by the other post he also holds, that is, the post of the Official Assignee and Offical Receiver. In fact the P.T.’s post, by itself has an impressive portfolio of responsibilities which includes the administration of the Public Trustee Act, Trustees Act, Motor Vehicles (Third-Party Risks and Compensation) Act, portions of the Central Provident Fund Act and the Corruption (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

The Public Trustee’s department is often viewed with resentment by members of the public: they regard it as another arm of the government that stubbornly withholds payment of monies which they are entitled to receive on demand disregarding the fact that these monies are held by the P.T. subject to the terms of the trust governing them.

The Public Trustee Act (Cap 260)

The Public Trustee Ordinance 1915 (No.111 of 1915) set up the Public Trustee’s office on the 4th of June 1915. It made the P.T. a corporation sole. It provided that he

1. (a) may be appointed trustee of any instrument creating a trust;

2. (b) may accept the office of executor or administrator;

3. (c) may administer estates under $5,000/- in value, if the applicant is a person of small means; and

4. (d) may investigate and audit the accounts of trusts not administered by the P.T.

The 1915 Ordinance also provided for the Treasury to guarantee the beneficiaries against breaches of trust of the Public Trustee including the acts and defaults of his officers. For the service of the P.T. and the Treasury’s guarantee the Government charged fees in the nature of a commission on the capital and income of the estate.

The object of the 1915 Ordinance was to meet the increasing difficulty of finding suitable persons to act as trustees and to safeguard beneficiaries against fraudulent misappropriation by trustees.

The Public Trustee Act (Cap 260) retains all the provisions of the 1915 Ordinance although there are numerous trust corporations in Singapore willing to act as trustees which are well regulated under various statutes, the main one being the Trustees Act, Cap 337. The acceptance of trusts which could be administered by trust corporations is in the absolute discretion of the P.T. Presently the P.T. rarely accepts these trusts.

That is not to say that the P.T.’s department does not have its share of such trusts. The legacy of the past still stalks the corridors of the P.T.’s office much to the horror of auditors, despair of administrators and dismay of legal officers

who have to plough through voluminous files, some of which are missing or insect-ridden. These trusts go as far back as 1925! The reason why these trusts never come to an end is the testator’s desire to be remembered in posterity or to be ancestor worshipped for a long period of time. Often, when the beneficiaries receive the capital sum they are in the autumn of their lives and their bodies are riddled with medical problems and aches and pains of old age. The timely threat of government acquisition has brought an end to several of these trusts. In such cases the P.T. would apply to court for the sale of the trust property, much to the joy of the beneficiaries and relief of the P.T.’s department.

The P.T. administers estates which are less than $5,000/- in value and where the applicant is a person of small means (section 6 of the Act). In these instances the P.T. signs an Undertaking To Administer which is filed in court, realises the assets, obtains Estate Duty Clearance and distributes the assets. A fee is charged in acccordance with the Public Trustee Fees Rules 1934.

The...