A common reason why people contact us is to help release refundable accommodation deposits from nursing homes. Refundable accommodation deposits, also known as RADs, nursing home bonds or aged care bonds are deposits made by Australian families on behalf of their loved ones going into aged care.
On the death of a nursing home resident the aged care provider must provide a refund of the balance of the lump sum deposit to the appropriate family member. To determine who is the appropriate person to receive this balance, the aged care provider typically requests the production of probate of the last will of the deceased, or letters of administration of their estate. This is irrespective of whether or not the surviving member paid the deposit directly to the nursing home. The purpose of this request for probate is to protect the nursing home, by avoiding the liability that may result in releasing these funds to the wrong person.
The Grant of Probate and Grant of Letters of Administration are grants issued by the various state Supreme Courts in Australia.
Once a copy of the Grant of Probate is provided to the aged care provider, they will release the nursing home bond via cheque payable to “the estate” to the named executor. Cheques of this nature may be banked in one of two ways:
1. You may deposit this cheque into a “deceased estate” bank account.
2. The cheque may be banked into a solicitor’s trust account, from where the proceeds may be directed to the payment of estate liabilities and expenses and then distributed in accordance with the deceased’s wishes.
National Probate and Estates Group processes hundreds of nursing home bond probate applications each year across Australia’s states and territories.
Whilst many firms may take 6 months or more to apply for, and to obtain probate, on average our applications are granted within 5 weeks of the application submission. This, in addition to our affordable rates and specialist team-members, means less stress for you at this difficult time.
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