Right to view a will

S

STEINER

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If I make a will, I take it that I control who sees it while I am alive, ie its not on public record or anything?
 
As far as I know a will only becomes a public document after probate and in the meantime it's private to the extent that you want it to be.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/death/before_a_death/making_a_will.html

Status of wills as public documents

After probate has been taken out on a person's will, that will then becomes a public document and a copy can be obtained by anyone from the Probate Office or relevant District Probate Registry. The Probate Office also sends copies of the will, the Grant of Representation and the Inland Revenue Affidavit to the Revenue Commissioners.
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If a will is made & the person dies does the will have to be read & sent for probate . And what is the time limit to it been published or sent to Probate
 
Whole series of questions arise.

Is there a will?
Where is it?
Who is the executor?
Who are the beneficiaries?

That whole thing about a will being "read" is essentially a "movie" fantasy. It does not happen in the real world.

After that, it is a matter of fact in each case.

You can check out Citizens Information website for more pointers.

mf
 
The executor should be made aware that there is a will, that he or she is nominated as executor, and be told where the will is to be found. Not even the executor need be privy to the contents of the will before death.
 
mf1 said:
That whole thing about a will being "read" is essentially a "movie" fantasy. It does not happen in the real world.
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It's not a fantasy! I have been present at more than one of these - and I was never in a movie...
 
Gulliver said:
It's not a fantasy! I have been present at more than one of these - and I was never in a movie...
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OK - I take that back. Replace with " there is no legal requirement for that to occur!"

The fact that I regard it as pure drama is a separate issue!

mf
 
And we don't know whether Gulliver inhabits the real world or not. His choice of username suggests that he may have travelled to strange places.
 
Their is a will.With the Executor.One of the deceased's daughters who is also the main beneficiary as told by her. according to the solicitor who made the will with the mother none of the rest of the family were mentioned in the will. The family home is involved . Does Probate have to taken out seen as their is property involved. Also out of the blue all of the sisters & brothers were given €1000 but no explanation given. If not mentioned in will how could this happen
 
But after death does the will have to be read. Does probate legally have to be taken out. If i make a will & pay good money to do so i would expect that my wishes are respected . Does it not have to available to all the family
 
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A will acts as the last wishes of a deceased person. The purpose of placing an executor is to ensure that the wishes are executed according to the will. Any deviation from the will has to be classed as suspect.
 
An executor does not have to show the will to anyone who is not mentioned.
if you are mentioned in a will, you are entitled to see that part of the will, but not the complete document.

When probate is completed, the will is then a publicly available document in the Probate office. It can takes months or more for this to happen.

If you received a bequest of €1000, you would be within your rights to ask to see the part of the will that states that.

I know this sounds obvious, but have you asked to see a copy of the will ?
 
In my case the executor knows the contents of my fathers will and so does his wife (my sister) but the rest of us aren't allowed to know the contents. Thanks Dad!
 
Odea said:
In my case the executor knows the contents of my fathers will and so does his wife (my sister) but the rest of us aren't allowed to know the contents. Thanks Dad!
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I appreciate that you are under stress and in a difficult situation, but the law says that the executor has no legal obligation to show the entire will to others until probvate is completed.

It is not fair to blame your father for this.
 
Mr. C.J.H. said:
Where? Did this happen in Ireland? This does not happen as a matter of practice.
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When I said I was present at more than one of these, I meant I was present at precisely two. Where - the midlands.

It has been the normal practice in our family - there is no drama. It is the practice in the family that the executor should fully inform all members of the family of the contents by reading it with all present and should continually inform them of how he/she proposes to conduct that role. There has never been any dispute in the family during such process or afterwards.

I am at the moment personally acting as executor for my recently deceased brother.
 
Gulliver,

I think they were refering to the solicitor calling all the members of the family & the benificiaries into the (mahonahy clad walled) office for an "official" reading of the will and the gasps by all as everything is left to some distant relative.

I was amazed when I called the solicitor after my father passed away & he came onto the phone to quickly announce - "you & X are the executors and all is splilt equally between the siblings". No need to go into the office at all, other than to collect a copy of the will.

Obviously, I (as executor) called everyone else togeather to notify them of what was involved in the will, but there was no obligation on me to do so.

Sam
 
To be honest, if the contents of Wills were publically 'read' in advance of probate then it would eliminate a lot of bad feeling, confusion and possibly even underhand behaviour in a lot of cases. In this day and age, they all should be scanned and posted on a probate office website.

Probated Wills are public records accessable to all, so dont see the reason why they need to be kept secret at any stage of the process.
 
"In this day and age, they all should be scanned and posted on a probate office website."

No.

Until the Will goes through Probate there are a lot of reasons why it may never get that far!

Will is improperly executed. Will was made under duress. Testator did not have capacity.

Which is why you are correct when you say: "Probated Wills are public records accessable to all"

"To be honest, if the contents of Wills were publically 'read' in advance of probate then it would eliminate a lot of bad feeling, confusion and possibly even underhand behaviour in a lot of cases. "

As it happens, I agree. But, in my experience, there is nothing like the sniff of money to turn people into nasty, grubby, underhand etc.,etc. In most situations, there will be harmony and agreement about what should and will happen. In the cases I've seen, where there is disharmony, you can trace it back to the dynamics of family living and the desire of (e.g.) the Testator to cause as much grief in death as he did in life!

mf
 
Gulliver said:
When I said I was present at more than one of these, I meant I was present at precisely two. Where - the midlands.

It has been the normal practice in our family - there is no drama. It is the practice in the family that the executor should fully inform all members of the family of the contents by reading it with all present and should continually inform them of how he/she proposes to conduct that role. There has never been any dispute in the family during such process or afterwards.

I am at the moment personally acting as executor for my recently deceased brother.
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As a matter of dealing openly and honestly with people, I think there is nothing wrong with doing that.

But I would guess (and hope) that you don't do the Hollywood thing of inviting family members who are not beneficiaries so that they can suffer a somewhat public disappointment.
 
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