Inheritance and Family Law issues

In Ireland, you can expect  Probate to last up to one year and this is generally referred to as the  “Executor’s Year”.This is generally the anticipated time frame for probate to issue and matters to conclude to a distribution.

There is no exact time frame, and for a very straightforward estate with no property and a single bank account with less than €30,000, it could take as little as 3 months for beneficiaries to receive their inheritance. The majority of estates are more complex than this, however.

In the normal course it will take around 6 to 12 months for beneficiaries to start receiving their inheritance, but this varies depending on the complexity of the estate. 

Tax clearance can pose an issue if there are assets outside of Ireland in particular, and there are several factors which affect the complexity of an estate and in turn increase the time it takes for beneficiaries to receive their inheritance.  If there are numerous properties to be sold for example, the average time frame to sell as property and have it complete is 22 weeks, nearly six months from going to market.  In particularly complex estates where there is a dispute for example or complex assets probate can even take years for administration to be completed.  At Carmody Moran Solicitors LLP we will update you with realistic time frames as the probate advances and work with you to identify priority issues and deadlines. 

The Executor is obliged to pay the funeral expenses and all other expenses outstanding by the Estate. The Executor is then required to distribute the assets to those entitled while ensuring any taxes relevant to the Estate are paid. Tax clearance is generally obtained before distribution. Finally, the Executor must furnish an administration account, accounting for all monies received and distributed during the administration period. At Carmody Moran Solicitors LLP our inheritance and family law solicitors in Ireland attend to all of these matters for Executors, greatly easing the burden upon them in attending to their Executor duties.

If an executor does not follow the terms of the will, the Executor should be contacted to highlight the issues of concern. Ideally this should be done in writing so that there is a record if necessary, at a later date, to demonstrate to a court that:

• the concerns were concisely raised, and were put to the executor at an early stage
• an opportunity was afforded to the executor to remedy to problem

As with all legal disputes, attempts to resolve matters in advance of embarking on legal proceedings should be taken and such evidence available to the Court if required of the endeavours made to reach agreement.

Yes, in certain situations. If there is no explicit instructions in a Will stating that property cannot be sold, an executor does have the authority to sell property without approval from all beneficiaries.

When selling a property the Executor should take professional advice and ensure that they follow the views of the majority to avail of the protection afforded to them under Section 50 of the Succession Act 1965. Frequently Executors (or their Solicitors) will write to the beneficiaries seeking their views on sale. The views of the majority of the beneficiaries must be exercised in good faith, and without personal motivation or any conflicts of interest.

The Executor must furnish an administration account for the beneficiaries, and account for all monies received and all monies distributed during the administration period. At Carmody Moran Solicitors LLP for executor clients we will prepare an account as of the date of death, a cash account showing all monies received and spent during the course of the administration, and a distribution account. This transparency is extremely important in ensuring that matters progress smoothly and to both Executors and beneficiaries.

Yes, funeral expenses are the priority debt payable and can be paid before a Grant of Probate or Grant of Administration issues.

Once a deceased had sufficient funds in a bank account, the bank will release funds either directly to the funeral director or to a relative who has paid the funeral director on submission of the relevant receipts. At Carmody Moran Solicitors LLP our expert inheritance and family law solicitors in Ireland will be on hand to help you navigate all of these initial steps with as little stress as possible.

Step one is to obtain legal advice and with experienced inheritance and family law solicitors in Ireland review your personal situation and your options. The potential grounds for contesting a Will, reviewing your personal situation and if there are legislative grounds to rely upon, the process for doing so and how likely a challenge is to succeed will all need to be reviewed. At Carmody Moran Solicitors LLP we offer an initial consultation at a fixed legal fee to review your situation, next steps and strategy can be reviewed, and immediate steps to protect your position if necessary. You can read further here of some case studies of this area of law.

https://carmodymoran.ie/estate-planning/estate-planning-case-studies/

A Will can be challenged on various grounds on the basis that it does not comply with Irish law. For a Will to be valid, it must be in writing and there are very strict requirements as to the format both in terns of how it is written and how it is witnessed. The witnesses to the Will cannot be beneficiaries or spouses of beneficiaries, as any gift to them will be invalid. If you have reason to challenge any of the requirements, an action can be brought and as with all these matters early and expert legal advice is key.

A Testator (the person making the Will) must also be of sound mind and common grounds to challenge a will are:

• The validity and /or construction of the Will and its compliance with the legal formalities that are required
• A lack of testamentary capacity
• Undue Influence and / or duress
• Unfulfilled promise to leave a specific bequest to someone (known in law as Estoppel)
• The will does not provide for a spouse or children in accordance with the Succession Act 1965
• Property has been disposed before death to stop people inheriting it

If you wish to contest a will, you should get advice immediately as there are strict timeframes that must be complied withand cases taken outside these time limits may be thrown out of Court.

At Carmody Moran Solicitors LLP we offer an initial consultation at a fixed legal fee to review matters, give early advice, and consider a strategy of how best to progress matters and of immediate steps to protect your position if necessary. We are also highly experienced at defending against a potential Will challenge and as in any potentially contentious legal situation, early and expert advice is key and we will always endeavour to resolve matters amicably and without the need to go to Court where possible.

The legal costs of any action will vary on a case by case basis depending on the complexity of the matters in dispute, the assets in the estate, and the length of the court hearing and level of dispute. If the challenge to the will is successful or is lost but had merit, then the Court has a discretion to Order that the legal costs be paid out of the Estate. If however, the case is lost and Court feels that the challenge was frivolous or vexatious, then the challenger may have to pay all the legal costs.

At the outset of your case, a solicitor is required to give you an estimate of the likely cost and we will discuss the likely recovery of legal costs. As with most legal cases, costs will generally follow the event, meaning that a successful case ordinarily includes an award towards or in discharge of legal costs.

The first step is to protect the assets and the Executor has a duty to ensure that all assets of the Estate are properly protected. At Carmody Moran Solicitors LLP we offer an initial consultation at a fixed legal fee to review matters to give early and practical advice and for further information please get in touch with our inheritance and family law solicitors in Ireland.

Many people make a Will and then do not review it regularly, circumstances change, but the Will has not been updated to reflect the current situation. The situation described accordingly is not that unusual. If an Executor appointed under a Will dies, then that does not impact the substance of the remainder of the Will. The Will remains valid and enforceable, however the type of Probate application differs. Where there is a Will all the Executors named and living at the date of the Testator’s (the will maker) death are entitled to extract a Grant of Probate. In this situation the Executor is deceased, and so there is a partial intestacy. The type of application that is made is for a Grant of Administration with Will Annexed. This Grant then appoints an administrator or administrators to act as legal personal representative to the Estate. The administrator in this instance has no power to act prior to the Grant. The Estate will vest in the President of the High Court pending the issue of the Grant.

Early and practical advise specific to your situation is vital here. If there is no authority to carry on the deceased’s business under the Will, then it may be necessary to sell the business and realise it as soon as is reasonably practicable. Clearly this is not always practical or prudent and a good business management approach with legal advice will be required to determine how best to proceed.