Estate Planning Solicitors Dublin

If you have already made your Will you should remember to up date it regularly so that it keeps pace with any legal and tax changes and of course your own personal circumstances. For further legal advice in this regard please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to be of assistance.

This is obviously an upsetting and distressing time. Making a Will/Estate Planning can help you plan what is to happen in the aftermath of a death but nothing can ever adequately prepare us for the loss of a loved one.
We are on hand to help and guide you through the process of obtaining a Grant of Probate or Administration and we will be happy to meet with you at your convenience and explain the process involved. We can help you apply for the Death Grant and deal with the funeral expenses. We can help you make searches to see if your loved one made a Will. We can help guide you through making important decisions regarding the deceased’s property and financial affairs and personal belongings (these matters are often collectively referred to as the Deceased’s Estate.

A person who dies having made a valid Will is deemed to have died testate.

A person who dies having not made a Will is deemed to have died intestate.

Some useful information to bring with you to a first appointment with your estate planning solicitors would include:

• A copy of the Will or original, if available
• The Medical Certificate or Death Certificate, if available
• The Deceased’s PPS Number
• Any social welfare book held by the Deceased
• The Funeral Bill
• Any financial documents that are available
• The names and addresses of the next of kin
• Details of the Deceased’s personal circumstances for example, marriage certificate, occupation, divorce order, children’s names and ages.

This is the Executor or Administrator appointed under the terms of the Will or if there is no Will the provisions of the Succession Act 1965.   This person or persons become responsible for administering the Estate and dealing with the affairs of the deceased person.

The Personal Representative generally instructs their solicitor to help them perform their duties including matters such as:

• Taking all reasonable steps to secure any property and any valuable assets
• Going through the Deceased’s papers
• Protecting the assets of the Estate
• Making sure there is insurance for any items that should be insured
• Identifying what is in the Estate
• Ascertaining what debts and expenses have to be paid
• Dealing with the tax liabilities of the Estate.

The Personal Representative is generally the person who extracts the Grant of Probate or Grant of Administration to the Estate.   In limited circumstances, it may be possible, to administer the Estate without extracting a Grant.

If the Estate is Intestate or the Will was partly or totally invalid a Grant of Administration is extracted. There are various forms of Grant of Administration

The law allows for a time of one year from the date of death for a personal representative and this is often referred to as “the Executor’s Year”.

The time however very much depends upon the circumstances of each individual Estate for example these factors can include:

• the type of assets that are involved and the decisions that are being made as to how to deal with them,
• the tax affairs of the deceased,
• the solvency of the deceased,
• the liabilities of the Estate
• the size of the Estate,
• the number of beneficiaries and the availability of PPS numbers
• whether the beneficiaries have received previous inheritances and gifts that now requires specialized tax advices
• the speed of outside agencies for example banks, valuers etc.
• whether the Estate is testate or intestate
• any difficulties identifying if a will was made or not or its validity
• any challenges to the Estate.

It will usually take upwards of three to six months before a grant of representation but it can take considerably longer if difficulties are encountered.

Wills have very strict execution requirements and the validity of the Will can be challenged.

Will challenges are complex and intricate areas of law. Our Firm has dealt with a wide array of legal challenges in large Estates running to several million euro and in every day estates. We can advise you on your legal rights, assist and mediate in a dispute, and our expert solicitors can litigate on your behalf in the Courts if necessary. For further information please telephone us or email us for an appointment and we will be happy to advise you on your personal situation.

An Inquest is an enquiry in public held in connection with the circumstances surrounding a death. An Inquest must be held by law, where the death might be deemed to be due to unnatural causes.

The purpose of the Inquest is to establish and publicly record the facts surrounding the death. A Coroner presides and the Inquest can sit with or without a jury. The Inquest can deliver a range of verdicts such as accidental death, misadventure, open verdict, suicide, to name but a few.

Certain persons are entitled to be legally represented at Inquests, although this is not mandatory by law. This is however a distressing time for families and our expert legal team can help you deal with this process and advise you of the process in a confidential and sensitive manner. We can assist you during this traumatic time and we have provided representation to families in cases where there has been medical negligence, misadventure, or an accident, and we can assist you through the Inquest process and advise you on any further legal action as may be appropriate.