Recovering the Aged Care R.A.D. (Refundable Accommodation Deposit)
Jane’s mother had recently passed away and had been residing in a residential aged care facility. Jane (not her real name) was the executor of the Will and had all the estate papers in order but the letter from the aged care facility gave her pause. It mentioned she would have to produce a grant of Probate of the Will in order to recover the Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD). What did Jane know about Probate? Well not much at all…. but thankfully she knew she could phone me and we would sort it out.
What is a Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD)
Upon entry to a facility, the accommodation provider and the resident enter into a Residential Care or Management Agreement and often a resident is required to pay a Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD). The RAD is a significant amount of money, often in the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and is regulated through the Aged Care Act 1997 (Cth) (‘the Act’). The RAD is an upfront payment made by the resident and upon leaving the facility or upon their death, is refundable less any permissible deductions such as fees or care costs.
How does the Executor of the estate recover the RAD?
The Aged Care company is holding a large sum of money on behalf of a deceased resident and they have a duty of care to ensure it is released to the correct person.
A person can make multiple Wills in their lifetime, so an aged care provider will often require more than just a certified copy of a Will.
Imagine if someone with an older Will supplied a certified copy to the Aged Care provider but the deceased had in fact made a later Will appointing another Executor. Yes this can happen.
Probate of a Will ensures the aged care provider that the Supreme Court of the State has granted an authorised person to manage the estate.
Letters of Administration (Intestacy) is an alternative grant where a person either didn’t leave any Will or the Will they made is lacking an Executor to carry out their wishes Letters of Administration with the Will.
After the death of a resident, the process (as prescribed by the Act) for the refund of the RAD is as follows::
The residential provider must refund the RAD when the resident dies to the resident’s estate;
The RAD must be paid to the estate within 14 days of obtaining a copy of the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration relating to the resident’s estate;
Until the RAD is refunded to the estate, the RAD will accrue interest at a rate rate is fixed by regulation.
What is the interest rate on the RAD?
There are two interest rates when it comes to a RAD and you can read more about them here.
Once the Executor has secured Probate of the Will or Letters of Administration, the estate representative may also have to sign a payment instruction to the Aged Care home who will either pay the refund:
Either by cheque payable to the resident’s estate or
EFT to the estate’s bank account; or
EFT to the Solicitor’s trust account (the law firm assisting the executor or administrator).
How long does it take to get Probate of the Will or Letters of Administration
That will depend on who assists with the preparation of the application.
Here are some points to consider:
Yes you can DIY, any drafting errors will result in requisitions where you will need to resubmit the documents to the Court.
If you decide to retain a lawyer the service time frames vary significantly.
Feel free to ask your proposed solicitor what their usual turnaround is on their grants, if they are vague or can’t answer confidently, that is a red flag.
Whilst you are on the call you might want to ask what level of of communication you can expect, who will be your contact person at the firm and what their professional fee is.
Another thing to check is whether they will require a retainer deposit to cover any initial outlays (usual outlays are the Probate Notice with the Queensland Law Reporter is currently $161.70 and the Supreme Court filing fee in Queensland is currently $793 or if you have a concession card $144.70.
If you retain a lawyer, a client service agreement should be issued within seven days setting out all the costs and outlays. If you don’t have it by then, that is a red flag that the firm is not on top of their file management, think carefully about moving ahead with that firm.
Fees will vary from firm to firm and may be a reflection of the quality and timeliness of their service.
If the firm doesn’t have a specialised Probate section, your matter may lag whilst other more urgent matters take precedence.
Many firms have paralegals running their Probate and deceased estate files, staff turnover can cause delays.
You do not have to stay with the law firm holding the Will, the Executor can retain the lawyer of their choice.
How can Probate Portal help you?
Here at the Probate Portal we have developed and fine tuned our process over the years which allow us to secure most of our grants within 5-6 weeks of being retained for Queensland matters. We can help with grants in New South Wales as well but be prepared for a longer wait there. Victoria is a lot more efficient and we can help manage estates in Victoria, New Zealand and the United Kingdom through our partner firm network and other Australian States coming online in 2025.
We offer a fixed professional fee on most matters and we can also recover the RAD to our trust account and attend to distributions to beneficiaries if that is requested.
We offer full service deceased estate administration so if you need a little help or a lot, you are in the right place.
You can read our client review’s on our Google Business page by searching Probate Portal and feel free to download a complimentary copy of Executor Assist here.
If getting timely, respectful service at a fixed fee is of interest and you would like assistance with a Probate matter or deceased estate please phone my office on 1300 897 765 or book a call back at a time that suits you or drop me an email if you would like to start that way.
I hope the above was of help and I look forward to speaking with you soon.
Caroline
