A 'free' will end up costing the Cora family $20,000
When Cora Whitfort needed to renew her will, she turned to the century-old trusted agency that made it free: the Queensland Public Trustee. He wanted his estate to be divided equally among his four children and, to make sure it ran smoothly, he changed his previous will to make the Trustee the executor. Cora developed dementia about two years later and when she died, “dementia” was listed on her death certificate. This means that the Trustee as the executor has a legal obligation to conduct an “investigation” into Cora’s capacity when she made her will in 2011. Cora Whitfort with her grandchildren. ( provided ) None of his family could have predicted the question would cause nearly two years of suffering for those left behind and cost him more than $20,000. His son Chris Whitfort couldn’t understand why the authorities had gone so far when no one in the family had a problem with the will. “He was trading stocks. He was driving, his doctor didn’t revoke his license at the time. So, not