General The laws of Wills inheritance and Probate is broadly similar in the England and Wales to that in Ireland. The major differences relate to the rights of spouses, civil partners children where a wills is made and their rights where no Will is made (intestacy). It is not absolutely necessary for an Irish person […]
General There is no automatic right under English law for spouses, children or dependants to a share of a deceased persons assets whether the deceased has made a Will and left the assets to others. However, certain relatives and dependants, including spouses and children have a right to apply to Court to have the Court […]
General Intestacy rules set out how a deceased person’s assets are divided if he or she has made no Will or has not made a Will which has effectively disposed of all his assets. Intestacy law in England is different to that in Ireland. Irish intestacy rules will apply to Irish domiciled individuals. The following […]
General A Grant of Representation is an official appointment by the Probate Office of the Courts obliging and entitling the person appointed to gather in the assets and liabilities of the deceased and distribute them in accordance with the Will or the intestacy rules. As in Ireland, there are two principal types of Grant of […]
Duties and Powers of Personal Representatives A personal representative is a collective name for an executor or administrator. The duty of the personal representative is to collect and get in all of the deceased’s assets and to administer them according to law. Within a reasonable time and taking whatever steps are necessary, the personal representative […]
General A trust is a legal mechanism by which the ownership of assets is held in suspension for periods of time for the benefit of certain people called “beneficiaries” and then passed to the beneficiaries at certain times, as circumstances require. A trust can be created by contributing any assets specifying the potential beneficiaries and […]
Appointment of Trustee The person creating the trust appoints the original trustees. They need not take up their appointment. It is always possible for a trustee to retire. A trust must have at least one trustee though it is usual to have two or more. It is possible to allow decisions to be made by […]
Where an Irish resident individual owns English property or assets, consideration should be given to completing a Lasting Power of Attorney. In the absence of a Lasting Power of Attorney English situate property owned by a person who ceases to be mentally competent to manage his affairs would have to be managed by the Court […]