Public Trust

Reviews

1. Kellie A ★☆☆☆☆

   Public Trust should NOT be trusted to manage any estate. After four years of dealing with them, I can confidently say their service is appalling. Multiple case managers mishandled my late mother’s estate, ignored serious issues, and allowed non-beneficiaries to take personal items with no follow-up. Their communication is dismissive and their processes chaotic. Save yourself the stress and heartbreak — find a professional executor who actually understands duty and accountability.

   almost 4 months ago
2. Kelsey Field ★☆☆☆☆

   Do not waste your time for will and EPA services. We engaged PT for this service and they basically ran through the online process in person (but charged a lot more). The wills had errors (different names - possibly a privacy breach of whoever they named in our will by mistake; spelling errors etc). The person we dealt with also did not have answers to a lot of our questions regarding estate, international assets etc. For EPA, they didn't even check the final document was signed, just sent us on our way. I provided feedback afterwards and never heard back. Avoid if you can.

   almost 5 months ago
3. Alice Robinson ★☆☆☆☆

   Could not evenly divide and distribute a simple trust. Appear to lack basic maths and communication skills. Hold the estate ransom while they write unnecessary Deeds of Distribution (with disclaimers for negligence), then fail to follow their own Deed. Rack up costs sorting out their own errors. Complaint handling is absolutely non-existent, and responses are full of gaslighting (despite the errors being at their end). Avoid using the Public Trust at all costs!

   almost 6 months ago

1. Brent Smith ★★★★★

   A very quick and easy online will facility. Any questions you have will be addressed quickly and with legal staff. Highly recommended.

   almost 8 months ago
2. J McG ★☆☆☆☆

   Avoid The Public Trust. Total charges to our family members estate totalled over $29000 and took 20 months to complete. They are just a rip off when a Lawyer charges $4000-$5000 for exactly the same service. They don't keep beneficiaries updated enough and make mistakes. Alot of them are only 'Advisors' so have to refer to their legal team all the time which costs more money. The Fees guide given at the start is misleading as so many more charges get added. Might as well just go straight to a qualified Lawyer and cut them out, you won't regret it.

   almost 11 months ago
3. Cheers_Chun ★★☆☆☆

   I've been asked to leave a review by Public Trust staff. I'm sorry I cannot recommend using their services to prepare your will. Preparing the will is easy enough and they charge $69 upfront for a basic will, but then comes the painful part as you are then told you need to get two witnesses to make the will valid per NZ law. I told them finding two witnesses was difficult for me, and was advised to get a JP and their assistant. Okay, easy peasy, and that was when I rated their response highly leading to being asked to leave this review. When I approached the JP he said he would rather not be witness as it makes the will easily challenged that the writer didn't understand it (!). I found the whole process of finding witnesses frustrating and demeaning, the opposite of how you want to feel while protecting your assets! When I told Public Trust what happened they offered to charge another $50 to do the witnessing. As such, I have totally lost interest to prepare a will. The charity I was going to leave my assets to already has big name sponsors anyway.

   almost 3 years ago

1. Robert Mcdavitt ★★★★★

   5 stars for keeping us informed

   almost 4 years ago
2. Peter Sutherland ★★★★★

   Pleased with the high level of caring service and prompt attention given to the handling of my mothers estate matters.

   almost 4 years ago
3. Josephine Deelman ★★★★★

   I had to prepare a will for my NZ assets. The staff were very helpful, and gave all the info I needed. I didn't like the 'pay up front' thing, but it was fine after asking my questions. They had good recommendations re my international living situation, and in the end, it was done simply and not very expensive. It's a pity that their service is no longer free (since 2012), but it's reasonable.

   more 6 years ago

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