One of the effects of the pandemic has been to increase people’s awareness of their mortality. As the Law Society of Ireland notes, there has been a significant surge in people wanting to make a will.

As Daireann Gibson, managing partner at Gibson & Associates LLP writing for Senior Times notes, all very admirable but for maximum peace of mind, individuals should also familiarise themselves with the process of administering a will for a family member or loved one.

Not understanding the probate process or how it should be handled can create serious legal complications when a family member dies, which is why it is worth taking the time to find out more about the principles of probate.

How the estate should be divided

Before someone dies, they should make a will that sets out exactly what they want to happen to their money, assets, property and personal belongings when they die and how it should be divided up.

The process of writing a will includes naming one or more individuals who will be responsible for administering the will and ensuring the intentions of the testator are carried out. Such people are known as the executors.

After the person dies, the executor/s apply to the Irish Probate Office for legal permission to start executing the will – a process known as grant of representation or probate.

Administering the estate

When the grant of probate is in place, the executor can start administering the estate. The deceased’s assets are gathered, divided up and dealt with according to what is specified in the will. The necessary legal obligations must be met.

All the steps must be carefully followed to avoid delays in distribution of the estate, the wishes of the deceased being overlooked and legal conflicts over the details of the will. Executors can be held personally and financially liable for legal claims made against the estate.

The executor must handle the probate process from beginning to end and ensure the beneficiaries receive their inheritance in due course.

Copies of the will

The executor needs the original will and a copy of the death certificate for the probate process to being. All assets and liabilities must be reviewed to work out what is owed, what taxes need to be paid ad what other steps should be taken.

The documentation is submitted either to the Central Probate Office in Dublin or the local District Probate Registry, to obtain a grant of probate. You must pay a fee before you can receive this.

Then, the executor gathers all the estate’s assets and passes them to the intended heirs. Outstanding debts must be paid off, as well as any taxes owed, and the cost of the funeral and compiling the estate’s final accounts taken care of.

How long does probate take?

It can take between three and six months to get a grant of probate approved, depending on the size of the estate and its complexity. Any estate with foreign property or assets will take much longer.

By law, beneficiaries of the will are entitled to receive their inheritance within one year of the date of death. Legal action can be taken against the executor of the estate if this does not happen.

Should someone die without leaving a will, the estate has to be divided according to the laws of the Succession Act. Rather than a grant of probate, spouses or relatives need to apply for a grant of letters of administration, rather than a grant of probate, in order to administer the estate.

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