The Official Solicitor

The Official Solicitor is an important role recognised in the Public Trustee Act 1978. Providing legal services, customer and corporate responsibilities are clearly separated.

Legal practitioners with a matter relevant to Queensland Public Trustee*, can visit our Contact information for lawyers for a list of email addresses to the various points of contact.

Official Solicitor, Customer Legal Services

The Customer Legal Services group is headed by the Official Solicitor, Customer Legal Services, and is called upon to provide specialist advice and services when Queensland Public Trustee* is acting in a representative capacity. This work involves many areas of the law including:

  1. issues that arise in Queensland Public Trustee’s* role as administrator for financial matters under the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 or as attorney under the Powers of Attorney Act 1998, including misappropriation of monies belonging to customers, constructive trusts and family provision claims under Part 4 of the Succession Act 1981
  2. personal injury and other litigation being conducted on behalf of Queensland Public Trustee’s* customers
  3. the drafting, construction and interpretation of Wills
  4. succession law matters impacting on deceased estates administered by Queensland Public Trustee*, including responding to family provision applications under Part 4 of the Succession Act 1981, advising on beneficiary entitlements, contested probate proceedings and issues arising on intestacy
  5. estate litigation including claims against deceased estates administered by Queensland Public Trustee* and investigating and seeking to recover misappropriated monies or property for the estate
  6. legal services to cater for the property needs of our customers
  7. issues that arise in Queensland Public Trustee’s* role as trustee of statutory, testamentary, minors, court ordered and special disability trusts
  8. legal services that arise in the administration of prisoners’ property.

Official Solicitor, Corporate Legal Services

Our Official Solicitor, Corporate Legal Services, focuses on:

  1. advising Queensland Public Trustee* in its corporate capacity in regard to litigation and court matters
  2. advising Queensland Public Trustee* in its corporate capacity, rather than his representative capacity
  3. receiving applications for the court’s sanction of compromise of actions under section 59 of the Public Trustee Act 1978.  To serve court documents on the Queensland Public Trustee* email [email protected]
  4. advice relating to Queensland Public Trustee's* role in relation to the Criminal Proceeds Confiscation Act 2002.
  5. complex property and leasing services for select government customers
  6. leasing for Queensland Public Trustee* in his corporate capacity
  7. issues that arise in Queensland Public Trustee’s* role as trustee of charitable trusts
  8. Queensland Public Trustee's* power under sections 61 and 62 of the Public Trustee Act 1978 relating to the execution of Transfers and Releases of Mortgage if certain preconditions exist
  9. Queensland Public Trustee’s* role under Part 8 of the Public Trustee Act 1978 relating to unclaimed property.

Queensland Public Trustee*, when acting in his corporate capacity complies with the Model Litigant Principles.

*Queensland Public Trustee is our registered business name, however the legal name of the Corporation under the Public Trustee Act 1978 is The Public Trustee of Queensland. If the Queensland Public Trustee is sought to be appointed as financial administrator, manager, personal representative, agent, attorney, nominated person, trustee, litigation guardian or in any other legal capacity, or is being named in any legal context, the relevant documents (including court documents) must describe the Corporation as The Public Trustee of Queensland and must also refer to the capacity in which The Public Trustee of Queensland is sought to be appointed or named.