Maternal Inheritance

A

aztec

Guest
Dear all,
I was born in the late 60s and my parents were not married. My parents met in Dublin while they were students and my conception was an "accident". Due to the political climate in Ireland at the time my parents travelled to England for my birth. After I was born it was decided that the best thing would be for my father to look after me as he had finished his studies and had a job in England, his family was also prepared to take on the responsibility of looking after me. Shortly after I was born my mother moved back to Ireland and when my father got married all ties were cut and they both went their seperate ways. As attitudes to my birth circumstances have changed considerably over the years, I decided to make a trip to Ireland last year to renew ties with my mother and her family. When I got there I lerant that my mother died many years ago, in 1986, however her family were quite welcoming and it turned out to be a rather pleasant trip. The family and I are still getting to know each other and while on the surface we seem to be getting on fine, some things don't ring true to me. From what I've learnt my mother played a big part in her family as she never got married nor did she have any more children. I was told by her family that she never talked about me and that none of them knew I had been born which I find strange particularly as my dad told me one of her sisters definitely knew about my birth. I also know that my mother had a successfull career in Dublin before she returned to her parents house to take care of them when they got ill. Her parents left a house which she lived in until her death and some land which I presume she would at the very least be entitled to a share of, assuming she had nothing of her own.
Her family have not mentioned anything about my mothers estate and I am uncertain about my standing with regards inheriting her estate so I am finding it difficult to ask. At the very least assuming she didn't have things of her own, I think she should be entitled to a share of her fathers things.
Can anyone please advice me firstly on whether or not I am entitled to inherit my mothers things under the circumstances of my birth and also the fact that she died so long ago. Secondly, if I am, what is the best way to go about securing this inheritance.
Many thanks for any replies.​
 
There always seems to be difficulties getting a clear back story about adoption or 'hidden' births. I went through something similar recently and have about three different versions of the past to try and sort through. There is a very good chance the sister did know - but chose not to tell anyone. Maybe your mother asked her to keep it hidden and she did.

That is fantastic that you can have some kind of relationship with them now. Is that something that you would want to continue developing? Did your mother make a will?
 
Thanks Purpeller!
Couple of things - talking to a solicitor sounds expensive, am I mistaking? I don't want to spend the little I have chasing what may or may not yield returns!
Also, how do I find out if my mother made a will? Is there a third party that I could ask i.e. without asking her family? I would rather find out my strengths / weaknesses before discussing it with them.
Thanks for the web link, I have had a quick look and it appears I should be entitled to her estate, the next step now I suppose is how to go about securing things in the most efficient manner - without too much costs.

Any more info. much appreciated!
 
Hello Paddi22,
thanks for your comments. I think you are correct in thinking that my mother would have asked her sister to keep my birth secret - this ties in with the overall picture. However I am surprised that when she got ill - she died after a long illness - that I wasn't mentioned for two reasons 1.) she signed my birth certificate and 2.) she did keep in touch with my dad until he got married and also had no other children. I would very much like to build a strong relationship with her family hence my caution in what I say or do not say. I suppose what really troubles me is that I seem to be more proactive than they are about the relationship and also, yes we appear have a cordial relationship but I sometimes think it is superficial as we don't really talk about anything of substance. I have also indicated that I will coming to Ireland soon but have had no invites so I will be staying in a hotel. I just get the impression that not everything is being said.

With regards finding out about a will, as I asked Purpeller, how does one go about this without asking her family, is there a third party I could ask?

many thanks!
 
Consult a solicitor;

For relatively small money (certainly less than €1000, probably less than €500) you can get some basic research done on property titles, wills etc., based just on what is available in public records. This may help a lot, or not at all (depends on what you find in the records) but at least you will have conducted some basic research in confidence before bringing anything out into the open and into a possible conflict situation.

You can do this research yourself, but it means taking time off work etc. I think you should just get an Irish solicitor. Get a recommendation before hiring one.
 
Many thanks MOB! I felt something like a will should be available for independent consultation but wasn't sure, hence the question. I have more than enough to work with now, thanks very much to everyone who has contributed.
I don't know if this is allowed or not but can anyone recommend a solicitor?
 
You need to check if your mother made a will. You also need to check the probate rules as, even if a will is made, there are rules regarding the provision for children and % of estate that can be willed.

In theory, you were your mothers sole next of kin and so should have inherited her entire estate (if no will) or a portion of it (if will).
 
I would not feel it strange/suspicious that your mother's family seem not to have known anything about you. I can understand your caution regarding this and I think I know what is unwritten in your posts: "Are they pretending not to have known about me in order to hide my inheritance?". Maybe I'm worng. If so, I'm sorry. But I don't honestly think they are being dishonest with you. It was only in very recent times that "hidden" births were acknowledged: your mother and her sister might never have even spoken about you since your birth. People can be very secretive. I'm only posting this to try and put you at ease as regards tackling your potential inheritance.
 
If your mother made a will and left something to you then the onus would have been on the solicitor administering the estate to contact you with regard to any inheritance you stood to gain. If she made a will and left you nothing then you could make a claim under section 117 of the Succession Act 1965 but as far as I am aware such a claim would not succeed after such a long time gap and also it could be difficult to demonstrate that she failed to make adequate provision for you. If she died intestate, and this seems possible if she was a young woman when she died, then her entire estate would have been yours. If however your existence was not known of by the family then her estate would have passed to her parents upon intestacy. Also, if your maternal grandparents died intestate after your mother died you would be entitled to her share of their estate. You should contact a solicitor to get proper advice but on the face of it it seems like you are in a strong position.
 
Pulped said:
If your mother made a will and left something to you then the onus would have been on the solicitor administering the estate to contact you with regard to any inheritance you stood to gain. If she made a will and left you nothing then you could make a claim under section 117 of the Succession Act 1965 but as far as I am aware such a claim would not succeed after such a long time gap and also it could be difficult to demonstrate that she failed to make adequate provision for you. If she died intestate, and this seems possible if she was a young woman when she died, then her entire estate would have been yours. If however your existence was not known of by the family then her estate would have passed to her parents upon intestacy. Also, if your maternal grandparents died intestate after your mother died you would be entitled to her share of their estate. You should contact a solicitor to get proper advice but on the face of it it seems like you are in a strong position.
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There are an awful lot of 'ifs' in that advice. The simple truth is that there are many possibilities here. As MOB said consulting a solicitor to investigate title is the best route. It would be helpful if you could, beforehand, obtain a map of the property, get the relevant dates of death of your mother, grandparents etc. Who is in possession of this house and land now etc. Where is the property in question= east, or south or north etc county, not more specific please as this is a very small country and maybe someone can recommend a solicitor.
 
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