Estates & Assets

Terms of Trusts

Overview There is enormous flexibility in relation to the terms on which trusts can be created. The main constraints are those of public policy. The former rules regarding the duration of trusts have been amended. It is now possible to apply to Court to vary trusts under new legislation, which commenced in 2010.… Read the rest

Succession without Will

Background Where a person dies without a will, he or she is said to die intestate. The Succession Act sets out who inherits the assets of a person who dies intestate. The rules also apply where a will was made, but it is ineffective or partly ineffective.… Read the rest

Succession to Assets

Freedom to Leave Assets by Will To a large extent, a person is free to leave his assets to whomsoever he wants. This freedom is subject to the legal right share of a spouse or civil partner and to the right for children to apply to the court, where the deceased has failed in his moral duty to make proper provision in accordance with means for them.… Read the rest

Statutory Family Rights & Wills

Overview Countries take different approaches to the extent to which a person is free to dispose of his assets on death. In France and some other continental countries, children have a very strong right to the bulk of a deceased’s assets. … Read the rest

Statutory Application by Child

Right of Children Children do not have an automatic right to benefit. A deceased may choose not to give particular children or indeed any of his children, any benefit at all. Even where the spouse has not survived, it does not follow that his children have an entitlement to any share.… Read the rest

Sale & Maintenance

Trustee Powers A well-drawn trust instrument should contain the necessary and appropriate trustee powers. In the absence of instrument conferring power, recourse must be had to implied powers. The implied powers available in the Republic of Ireland are extremely narrow and are still largely based on nineteenth-century legislation.… Read the rest

Representation Application Overview

Citation and Renunciation If the person named as executor or the next person entitled does not and will not take up his office there is a procedure by which a document called citation issues from the Probate Office requiring him to take up or refuse the offer within a specified period. … Read the rest

Purpose Trusts

Purpose Trust A “purpose trust” has the objective of promoting a particular purpose. It may or may not be for the benefit of a person or a class or persons. A purpose trust is enforceable if it is for charitable purposes.… Read the rest

Probate Applications

Probate Officer The Probate Officer is a Court Officer who exercises quasi-judicial functions in relation to probate matters. In some more complex cases, orders of the Probate Officer are required. A grant may be amended where non-fundamental details need to be rectified.… Read the rest

Personal Representatives

Overview The law prescribes the formalities by which assets are transferred to successors upon a person’s death. The entitlement to assets is determined by the terms of the Will, subject to the rights of spouses and children. … Read the rest