Redfern Legal Centre met many people who were homeless or living in uncertain accommodation and was able to provide legal advice and referral services to people in need of support.
RLC met one client, Andrew (not his real name), who was homeless and in poor health and did not have a family network. Andrew was concerned about what would happen to his belongings when he dies and who would know about, or be alerted to, his instructions after his death.
Andrew was aware that even if he was able to invest in a funeral fund that there was no service responsible for alerting family or relevant persons where this information was held. Andrew wanted to know why there is no central agency or register where people can register their details, their assets and their wishes to direct people after the event of their death.
The NSW Trustee and Guardian is an inadequate service for people in Andrew’s position as it involves fees and acts as an executor of a person’s estate, possibly negating the wishes of a client after their death. This issue highlights the uncertainty a person who is homeless can experience when faced with issues around sickness and death and the need to address the lack of provisions for people in this situation.
