Responsibilities when leaving the country

[Tankstand]

Hello everyone!

I am seeking advice from my learned brethren (Youse lot )

My eldest son and his soon to be fiancee' are heading to the UK for an extended working holiday soon.

My wife and I were wondering, which (if any) governmental departments does one need to contact when leaving the country for an extended period of time?

He lives with us (Still ) so there are no utilities to worry about.

Medicare?

Cheers

Mark.

[Sturdee]

Tax office regarding his tax returns, possibly the electoral office regarding his voting come to mind.


Peter.

[Chesand]

Private Health Insurance if he has it

[_fly_]

Doesn't matter which Govt department you tell, it will be ignored and you will still need to do what they require no matter where you are or if your dead or alive.

My father rang them when my brother was getting letters from the tax dept after he had died.
They then said, He'll have to lodge then.
My father said, fine you chase him up then, I'm just letting you know.
They then said that my father should fill in his return as it had to be done.
He was 43 when he died, in total control of his facilities and the tax man expects my father to do his return???
My father told them they could chase him as much as they like, and he would not be returning future mail OR ringing them again.
Typical Government department!!!!

[Christos]

Doesn't matter which Govt department you tell, it will be ignored and you will still need to do what they require no matter where you are or if your dead or alive.

My father rang them when my brother was getting letters from the tax dept after he had died.
They then said, He'll have to lodge then.
My father said, fine you chase him up then, I'm just letting you know.
They then said that my father should fill in his return as it had to be done.
He was 43 when he died, in total control of his facilities and the tax man expects my father to do his return???
My father told them they could chase him as much as they like, and he would not be returning future mail OR ringing them again.
Typical Government department!!!!

How long ago was this, cause i reckon they did not have this in the manual. Two things in life are certain Death and Taxes.

[Sturdee]

My father rang them when my brother was getting letters from the tax dept after he had died.
They then said, He'll have to lodge then.

The tax laws require that the executor of the deceased estate lodge a tax return up to the date of death and if the estate earns income additional returns covering that income.

I know of a few cases where the executor ignored this and was fined quite heavily for failing to lodge returns.

Peter.

[Tankstand]

Thanking you,

Good info so far....

Tax office regarding his tax returns, possibly the electoral office regarding his voting come to mind.


Peter.

Do Aussies overseas still vote? (For Australian elections)

[_fly_]

The tax laws require that the executor of the deceased estate lodge a tax return up to the date of death and if the estate earns income additional returns covering that income.

I know of a few cases where the executor ignored this and was fined quite heavily for failing to lodge returns.

Peter.

He had no possessions (except clothes), no income (never worked from 15 till 43) apart from unemployment and no will.
Does that mean my folks can claim the funeral for a deadbeat back from the tax dept.
I don't think so.

It was worse when he rang vodaphone to ask for his mobiles PIN so he could ring his friends to let them know.
"Sorry, privacy rules forbid it"
He sent them the death cert issued by the hospital as the proper one takes months. They said that would be good enough, then reneg'ed Nope, Privacy. How much privacy does a dead person need???
End result, His friends from where he lived 2 years before moving back in with parents never got told.

[dabbler]

And phone calls just don't cut it, whether you're talking ATO, banks, social clubs or whatever. It really needs to be documented in writing. Better all round.

The tax laws require that the executor of the deceased estate lodge a tax return up to the date of death and if the estate earns income additional returns covering that income.

I know of a few cases where the executor ignored this and was fined quite heavily for failing to lodge returns.

Peter.

Even if you want to go it on your own, it pays to talk to solicitors about your responsibilties as an executor. I've even known of cases where a solicitor was used to advise other family members just what the executor has to do under law and what they (the others) aren't to do themselves.

In particular, any advice informing other parties of a death needs to be in writing, possibly even on the appropriate form and usually accompanied by a certified copy of the death certificate.

I've done it three times now, once as an co-executor. If you can make initial contact in person and collect official forms in person (not always possible I know) counter staff are understanding and helpful.

If anyone is thinking of naming co-executors, my advice is not to. It can complicates matters unless it clearly spells out who does what. In my case sis and I lived in different cities and sharing responsibilities was problematic most of the time.

[Des.K.]

You (and your son) will find it very handy for you to be granted power of attorney by your son. This will allow you to do a lot of the smaller admin stuff that will pop up every now and again for your son without worrying too much about privacy regulations. Also, he won't have to worry about trying to sort things out while overseas.

We have it for daughter, who is living in Japan, and it has saved an enormous amount of hassle for her. You'll need to see a solicitor (daughter is one, so she drew up her own), and I dare say you or your son can include various limitations if that's important to you.

Voting isn't compulsory if you're living overseas, and by informing the Electoral Office, your son will have the choice of voting or not. Voting overseas is normally done at the Embassy (High Commission in the UK), or at other representative offices (I think).

Des

[ian]

Hello everyone!

I am seeking advice from my learned brethren (Youse lot )

My eldest son and his soon to be fiancee' are heading to the UK for an extended working holiday soon.

My wife and I were wondering, which (if any) governmental departments does one need to contact when leaving the country for an extended period of time?

He lives with us (Still ) so there are no utilities to worry about.

Medicare?

Cheers

Mark.

Hi Mark
they could register with DFAT as being in the UK, don't know what good it would do as I don't anticipate an invasion, earthquake or tsunami interupting their stay
Check when their passports expire, if their absence extends to within 6 to 12 months of when their passports expire they could have a few hassels renewing then OS. Pays to check with DFAT, try the web site first.

Health
It would pay to check the reciprical health care arrangements between here and UK
then look at helath insurance

Power of attorney as already mentioned

Tax?? Curly one.
File a return for this year (2011/12) for sure,
for subsequent years? there's arcane rules about double taxation here and overseas would pay to ring the ATO
AFAIK, HECS debts remain payable and acrue interest while you're out of Aus, but you don't have to make any paymnents if you are out of AUS for more than a full tax year


Electoral role
If your son has recently moved back home he might already have dropped off the role.
It would be advisable for him and his fiance to register themselves as living at your address -- that way they will stay on the electoral roll (for 5 years IIRC), can do a postal vote while overseas if they want to, and not have to go through the hassel of proving who they are and where they live when they return

[Tankstand]

This is all Golden information we would never have thought about, thankyou all.