Alternatives to State Trustees Victoria for Power of Attorney and Estate Planning

If you're looking for alternatives to State Trustees Victoria for setting up your power of attorney or managing estate planning, the most important thing to understand is this: appointing State Trustees as your attorney or administrator is a one-way street that's extremely difficult to reverse, and the ongoing fees are far higher than most families expect. For the majority of Victorians, appointing a trusted family member as attorney — using a purpose-built kit or a solicitor to get the documents right — gives you better control, lower costs, and a more responsive arrangement.

State Trustees Limited is a state-owned company that offers professional document preparation and can act as a neutral, independent attorney or administrator. They serve an important function for people who genuinely have no one they trust to appoint. But they've also been the subject of significant criticism from the Victorian Ombudsman for delays in releasing client funds and managing property transactions — and their fee structure means the estate pays ongoing costs for as long as they're managing it.

The Real Cost of State Trustees

The document preparation cost is competitive with a solicitor — $860 for a three-document package versus $600 to $1,500 at a private firm. But the real expense comes after signing. If you appoint State Trustees as your attorney (not just using them to prepare documents), they charge ongoing hourly rates of $216 to $363 for administration, plus a capital commission of up to 5.5% on the value of assets they manage.

On a $700,000 estate — roughly the median house price in outer Melbourne — that capital commission alone is up to $38,500. A family member doing the same work as your attorney costs nothing.

Alternative 1: Appoint a Family Member Using a Victoria-Specific Kit

For most families, the best alternative to State Trustees is appointing a trusted relative as your attorney and using a kit to prepare the documents correctly. This gives you:

• Zero ongoing fees: A family member acting as attorney has no hourly rates, no capital commission, and no income commission.
• Responsive decision-making: Your daughter or partner can walk into the bank the same day you need them to, rather than waiting for a State Trustees case manager to process a request.
• Family control: Decisions about your care, your home, and your finances are made by someone who knows your preferences — not by an assigned government administrator.

The risk, of course, is that the family member might lack the knowledge to execute the documents correctly. That's where a Victoria-specific kit fills the gap — it provides the same procedural coverage as State Trustees' document preparation service (the three-document framework, witnessing requirements, bank compliance protocols) at a fraction of the cost, while keeping the attorney appointment within the family.

Alternative 2: Use a Private Solicitor for Document Preparation Only

If you want professional drafting but don't want State Trustees involved in ongoing management, a private elder-law solicitor can prepare your EPA, MTDM appointment, and ACD for $600 to $1,500. You appoint your chosen family member as attorney — the solicitor simply ensures the documents are drafted correctly.

This approach costs about the same as State Trustees' document preparation ($860 for three documents versus $600 to $1,500 at a solicitor), but gives you two key advantages:

1. No ongoing relationship: Once the documents are signed, you don't owe the solicitor anything further. State Trustees, if appointed as your attorney, become a permanent fixture.
2. Protective drafting: A solicitor can add custom restrictions, gift-giving limits, and reporting requirements tailored to your family's situation. State Trustees uses standardised forms.

Alternative 3: Combine a Kit with a Targeted Solicitor Consultation

The hybrid approach: use a kit to complete the straightforward documents (the standard financial EPA and MTDM appointment), then pay a solicitor for a single consultation to review the finished documents, address any complex provisions, and provide a professional sign-off. Total cost: significantly less than either a full solicitor engagement or State Trustees' ongoing management fees.

This works well for families who want professional reassurance without the full solicitor price tag — particularly for the advance care directive, where the instructional directive provisions need to accurately reflect the principal's specific medical treatment preferences.

When State Trustees Is Actually the Right Choice

State Trustees exists for a reason, and there are genuine situations where they're the appropriate option:

• No trusted family member: If you have no relatives or friends you trust to manage your finances, a neutral institutional attorney is better than no attorney at all. Without valid documents, VCAT appoints an administrator — and that administrator is often State Trustees anyway, but with additional tribunal costs on top.
• Family conflict: If your children are in active dispute about who should be appointed, State Trustees can serve as a neutral third party that neither side objects to.
• Elder abuse risk: If there's a history of financial abuse within the family, a professional administrator with reporting obligations provides protection that a family appointment doesn't.
• Very complex estates: If the estate involves business interests, trusts, or investments that require professional management skills beyond what family members can provide.

Outside these scenarios, the ongoing fee structure makes State Trustees one of the most expensive ways to manage a straightforward family estate in Victoria.

What Happens if You Do Nothing

The worst alternative to State Trustees is no alternative at all — having no financial or personal power of attorney documents in place when capacity is lost. For financial or personal authority, your family must apply to VCAT for a guardianship or administration order. Medical treatment decisions follow the statutory decision-maker hierarchy instead. The process takes three to six months, requires a medical report on a specific VCAT template, and often results in State Trustees being appointed as administrator by default — with the full fee structure applied, but without your input into the terms of the appointment.

Every other option — a kit, a solicitor, even State Trustees' own document preparation service with a family member appointed — is better than the VCAT pathway. The key is completing the documents while the principal still has decision-making capacity.

Who This Is For

• Families who have been quoted State Trustees' fees and want to understand what they're actually paying for
• Anyone considering appointing State Trustees but unsure whether a family appointment would work better
• Victorians who want their power of attorney documents prepared without ongoing institutional involvement
• Executors or attorneys who have dealt with State Trustees' administration delays and want to avoid repeating the experience

Who This Is NOT For

• People who genuinely have no trusted person to appoint as attorney
• Families with active elder abuse concerns where a neutral institutional administrator is needed for protection
• Estates with business interests or investment portfolios that require professional fund management

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use State Trustees just for document preparation without appointing them as my attorney?

Yes. State Trustees offers a document preparation service ($330 for a single document, $860 for three) where they draft the forms but you appoint whoever you choose as your attorney. This separates their drafting expertise from their ongoing management service. However, be aware that their sales process may encourage you to appoint them — the ongoing management fees are a significant revenue source.

What if my family member makes bad financial decisions as attorney?

An attorney under an EPA has legal duties to act honestly, diligently and in good faith, keep accurate records, and avoid conflicts of interest. If they breach these duties, a person with a special interest can apply to VCAT for a review. You can also include restrictive conditions in the EPA — for example, requiring the attorney to keep financial records and submit annual accountings to a nominated family member. These protective provisions are available in the Long Form EPA.

How do I switch away from State Trustees if they're already appointed?

If the principal still has decision-making capacity, they can simply revoke the existing EPA and execute a new one appointing a different attorney. If capacity has been lost, an application to VCAT is required to change the administrator — this is the "one-way street" problem, and it's why the initial appointment decision matters so much.

Are State Trustees' fees negotiable?

The fee schedule is published and standardised. There is limited scope for negotiation on ongoing management fees, though the specific commission rates applied can vary depending on the complexity of the estate. For most families, the question isn't whether the fees are fair for what State Trustees provides — it's whether you need what they provide at all.

The Victoria Power of Attorney Kit covers the full three-document framework — financial EPA, MTDM appointment, and advance care directive — so you can appoint a trusted family member with confidence that the documents will be accepted by banks, hospitals, and government registries. It's the most direct alternative to State Trustees for families who have someone they trust to appoint.

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