The family of a wealthy 93-year-old woman will be gifted more than $110,000 for birthdays and Christmas this year in the wake of a tribunal hearing.
A Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled the woman's eldest daughter should take charge of her mother's financial matters after it was found she could no longer take care of the affairs herself.
The tribunal found the woman had expressed her wish "clearly and consistently" to family members and an independent advocate that she would like to continue making monetary gifts to her family and close friends, who she said were important to her.
The daughter told the tribunal her mother regularly gifted 23 family members and a family friend about $67,000 between them each year at Christmas.
She provided copies of cheques to each of her five siblings which showed they usually received about $10,000 each at Christmas, with grandchildren receiving about $1000.
Birthdays were a quieter affair, with 48 family members and a family friend received $45,000 between them on average, the eldest daughter told the tribunal.
The daughter was asked to engage with a financial planner to determine the appropriateness of the gift-giving in light of the woman's affairs.
According to court documents, the mother's accountant of 15 years found she was able to continue the tradition of giving $112,500 in total over the next two years to her family and close friends, with the matter to be reconsidered at the end of that period.
While the tribunal found the circumstances were "unique and unusual", it ruled the gift-giving could continue with compromising the older woman's position.
