FAQ Rights of a beneficiary; Who is entitled to see a will? and related issues

Brendan Burgess

Brendan Burgess

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I can't find a simple guide to this issue anywhere online and it seems to come up a lot. I am going to comile an FAQ from my general knowledge. I will ask the questions and give what I think are the answers. Corrections or fuller answers welcome.

This is not a general discussion on making wills or the rights to inherit. It is specifically about the rights of beneficiaries.

What is the procedure after a person dies where there is will?
1) The executor applies to the Probate Office for a Grant of Probate otherwise known as a Grant of Representation
2) The Grant of Probate confirms that the will is valid and gives the executor the authority to administer the estate in accordance with the will.
FLAC sets out the [broken link removed]
3) The probated will is now a public record
4) With the probate granted, the executor now has the authority to collect the assets into their own name with a view to distributing them to the beneficiaries.

When and where can I see the will?
Once Probate has been granted, the will is a matter of public record.

You can call into the Probate Office or you can apply for a copy of the Probate and Will by post. Full details are in the first reply to this post.


Have I a right to see the will before Probate is granted?
No, the Executor is not obliged to show you the will.

However, if you know who the Executor is, you can ask them.

Do I really not have the right to see my father's will, even if I am the sole beneficiary?
Not until Probate is granted

How do I challenge the will?
You can lodge a caveat with the Probate Office claiming, for example, that the will was forged.

How can I challenge the will if I don't know what is in it?
You will have to wait until Probate has been granted.

Is it not too late to challenge the will after Probate is granted?
No. The Grant of Probate only confirms that the will is valid and that the Executor has been validly appointed. At that stage, the assets will not have been distributed.

What can I do if the Executor is very slow in taking out probate or in dealing with the will? Maybe there was no need to take out Probate. If the assets were all held in joint accounts, for example, with your mother, there was no need to take out probate.

Generally, you can't do anything about it within 12 months of the death.

If an Executor has confirmed that he has the will, but he has done nothing about it, and is not responding to your correspondence, contact your solicitor.

If an executor fails to act it is possible for the beneficiaries to issue a Citation leading to the Executor having to accept or refuse a Grant.

This thread sets out the one person's experience where the Executor was in conflict with the sole beneficiaries:
The Executor is doing absolutely nothing

Can I object to the way the Executor is handling the estate?
I am the main beneficiary but the Executor is selling my father's house for less than I think it is worth. Does he need my permission?

Can I get a final account of what happened? For example, what was the final total of assets and who got them? What did the Executor charge the estate?
Only the residual beneficiary is entitled to this. If the Will specified that you were to receive €1,000 and you got your €1,000, then you have no further rights.

If the will specified that you were to receive the remainer of the assets after the specific bequests had been distributed, then you are entitled to receive a full account of all the assets and how they were distributed.

The Executor is just sitting on the assets and not distributing them?
If the Executor is a solicitor, then you should write formally to him for an explanation of the delay.
If he does not respond, you should write again, and notify him that you will be making a formal complaint to the Law Society, if he does not respond.

Where can I get more information?
[broken link removed] itself is very helpful and will guide you through the process. However, they don't give legal advice.

If you want to lodge a caveat or if you want to challenge a will, consult a solicitor.
 
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Records available to the public:

Once a grant of probate has issued, copies of the grant and the original will may be obtained on payment of the appropriate [broken link removed] by any member of the public.




The Records Office of the Dublin Probate Office holds the records for grants which have issued within the past 20 years.



The Probate Office also holds records of all grants which have issued from the 14 District Probate Registries within the past 20 years. These records are for reading purposes only. To get copies of documents when the grant issued in a District Probate Registry contact that Registry directly.


You can apply for a search and / or copy documents by post by completing [broken link removed] and paying the relevant fee. The information notes contained in that form provide further information about conducting searches and applying for copy documents. The form specifies the Dublin Probate Office requirements.
If you are applying to a [broken link removed], contact that registry first to confirm any special requirements that registry might have.


You may also attend in person at the Dublin Probate Office to apply for a search or for copy documents. If you wish to inspect the records when attending you must provide 48 hours notice as the records will have to be retrieved from storage. Files retrieved for inspection will be available for 5 days. After that period, they will be returned to storage.


District Probate Registries

In addition to the Probate Office there are fourteen District Probate Registries located outside Dublin. See the links to the right for contact details for the various registries.

These registries are attached to Circuit Court Offices under the control of County Registrars.
They have authority to issue grants of representation where the deceased, at the time of his/her death, had a fixed place of abode within the area of jurisdiction of the District Registry.
For example, if the person died having a place of abode in Co. Clare, the application for a grant of probate may be made to the District Probate Registry at Limerick.
The application may be made in person or through a solicitor.elated liMayo
 
My sister is a beneficiary on my fathers will. Her husband is the executor. She has access to my fathers will that is in her husband's possession. The rest of the family are not allowed to see the will. Can the executor be allowed to do this?
 
Yes and no. Family members do not have an automatic right to see a deceased persons will, only the named beneficiaries of the will do. However, those beneficiaries are only entitled to see the part of the will that pertains to them, and not the will in its entirety.

The executor can choose to disclose the entire wills contents to beneficiaries, but he does not have to if he chooses not to. As your sister has a relationship with the executor of the will she may be in the know as to what the entire will contains, not just the part that pertains to her. The executor is failing in his duties if he is giving one beneficiary more access to the wills contents than others, but its a tricky situation to put your foot down on seeing as she is his wife.

If a family member is not named in the will at all, the executor doesn't have to show them a thing if he doesn't want to.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
This thread sets out the one person's experience where the Executor was in conflict with the sole beneficiaries: The Executor is doing absolutely nothing
Click to expand...

That was my thread. In summary:

My parents died, myself and my sibling came across a will while going through their possessions. We took the will to a solicitor and asked what we should do with it. An uncle of mine was named executor. Our solicitor wrote to our uncle to inform him a will had been found with him named as executor. The uncle in question was not happy with our relationship with his brother (our father), wasnt on speaking terms with us, and so decided to do nothing.

The estate was simple, just the family home, no other assets, nothing owing anywhere. Myself and sibling were the only beneficiaries.

We handed over all relevant documentation to our solicitor along with the will (the deeds of the house etc..).

We had our solicitor send a letter asking if the executor wished to renounce executor duties and contact was made saying that he would act, but then he continued to do nothing.

We were becoming more and more frustrated and distressed as time passed, we just wanted the estate dealt with. On top of this we had insured the house at our own expense and had it cleaned out, plus we had dealt with the utility companies and tried to make things as easy as possible for the executor to just get on with it. We both felt he was just trying to prolong our misery out of spite.

After another letter from our solicitor it looked as though things were about to move - but 2 months later, probate still not started. At this stage it was 10 months since my parents had died.

Then there was some messing about whereby the executors solicitor refused to deal with some things, and tried to charge my sibling directly for a house valuation and then basically silence for a number of years.

In the end, almost 3 years passed and for most of that time the house was on the market at a silly price which prevented sale.

I only found out the property had been sold by accident. I drove past one day and it was being renovated. The executors solicitor then proceeded to drag out the distribution of monies. We had no visibility of what was spent where at this point. My sibling had aggravated the situation negatively a few times during this.

Eventually after a number of angry phonecalls and delays, the estate was distributed and the executors accounts made available to us. My uncle had charged the estate for ridiculous expenses and his solicitor had charged a lot for the work.

The only option left to us was to sue both uncle and his solicitor - but so much time had passed and we knew that it would only be throwing away more money - so I said no to that and my sibling didnt proceed alone.

I was very dissatisfied with the entire process. It cost me money to get things moving in the first place and delay after delay happened for no good reason bar the personal feelings of the executor. The housing market was at its peak when the will was first handed over and the house was not sold until almost 3 years later.

It is a flawed process. There was a lot of stress in the 3 years. I was not able to move on from my parents death until it was all sorted out.
 
Hi I'm a new member & wonder if anyone can help with this please. I see above it says beneficiaries do not have the right 2 see a Will until probate has been granted. Then it says they can see the bits relating to them. Can they see the bits relating to them before probate or do they have to wait?

I am concerned that the executor of my father's will (one of his 3 children of which I am another) has given out bequests & is clearing his house & has taken all his possessions of value into her house when she hasn't even applied for probate yet. She refuses contact with me & barely speaks to my other sister. Is she allowed to remove things & give them away when she hasn't applied for probate yet?

Thank you for any advice
 
How can one find out who the Executor of a will is or indeed if the dead person has made a will at all?
 
To clarify: the reason I wanted to see a copy of my dad's will was to ensure his wishes are being complied with as I don't trust my younger sister. I know I have no right to see it (even though I am a beneficiary) until probate has been given. However I did not think it unreasonable to ask. My younger sister has not replied to my request & refuses all contact with me. She has told my older sister that because I asked to see a copy of the will she will make sure I am not there when she clears the house. She has had the locks changed already to ensure neither my other sister nor myself have access to the property.
 
Afaik the only solicitor she is using is the one who drew up the will. It was executed in my dad's house a couple of days before he died. We don't know who witnessed it. My younger sister moved a couple of years ago to within a mile of my dad. My other sister & myself live further away.

My younger sister has taken all the money from my dad's current account (about £15k) into her own bank account. I'm not sure how she did this. After paying for the funeral & giving out a couple of bequests of. £1k each she is saying the remainder has to go on household insurance.
Seems suspicious to me. I think you are right & I should see a solicitor on Monday. Thank you for your advice.
 
The funeral cost £7k. He has about £150k in investments & his house is worth about £350k.

I worked out the only day that I wasn't there was a day when my dad had a couple of people round & was quite secretive about it, was the likely day. A couple of weeks before an aunt told me that my dad should hurry up & make a will as she knew he hadn't at that point.

The main problem with my younger sister is that she gets violent when she drinks. The drug she abuses is coke. When she's sober she's more bearable, just about, but when drunk (every night) she becomes bitter & full of hate.
 
reenee said:
My younger sister has told us the contents, although refusing to show us the will. According 2 her we are jointly residual beneficiaries from the sale of his house, its contents & all his assets.
Click to expand...

At the end of the day your sister, in her capacity as executrix, must act within the law, including tax law.

Her own wishes are irrelevant; this is not her property. She is required to administer the estate in accordance with the terms of your father’s will.

She is obliged to comply with any relevant sections of the Taxes Acts.

She is also obliged to keep proper accounts throughout the administration period and make these available to the beneficiaries.

In the circumstances you have outlined, I think you and your older sibling should immediately engage a solicitor to protect your interests as residuary beneficiaries.
 
Hi came across this forum so thought i would seek some advice. My father has recently passed away and I was wondering what entitlement if any I have to seeing his will. My mother and father separated (not legally) and he met someone else. She is executor of the will. They got a mortgage together so have a home. She has returned to the UK (where she is from) But has not mentioned sorting any of his affairs. She has left it to us to organise a death cert and we dont even know if he had a life policy to cover the funeral costs. Do we have any rights to view any documentation as next of kin? My mother is still alive and they were still legally married when he passed. Thank you
 
if she is the executor then it's up to her to process the will if he actually wrote one. my only thought is when the will is complete you can view it as it is available to be viewed then.
 
Hi , the thread is by far the best info I could find ..

My question .

Is there a way of finding out who are the executors of my dad's will ?

I am a beneficiary as are all siblings .

I know my brother is one executor and says his estranged wife is the other and she has not signed the solisitors paper s.

Sounds fishy to me so want to see if the 2 are indeed executors . 15 months gone by .

I contacted today my dads solisitor but he can't issue a copy of will oviously but can't devulge who the executors are..

So how can I find out if true ??
Many thanks in advance for guidance
 
Are either of your parents still living?

How do you and your siblings know you are beneficiaries?

You could write a letter asking for them to contact you, and have the Solictor to send to the executor(s).

You can also apply to have the executor(s) removed if application for probate is not progressing.
 
Whow fast.

We don't know for certain we are beneficiaries. My dad showed one of us the will , but oviously could have been changed .

I've requested a copy of the will from my brother (executor ?) I assume the Will states the executor(s). Its crossed my mind his wife is not signing for probate as might be using as leverage.

I suppose how do we know if there's even a valid Will and who is executors ..
 
Sorry both have passed , and my brother (executor ) lived in my dad's house before he passed and still does ..

So how does any know in reality if there is a will , an executor(s)
Or all fiction and not being progressed whatsoever
 
You possibly need to get your own solicitor onto this. Realistically it should not take this long to sort a will. I assume your brother has seen the will as executor, therefore can't he confirm if you are a beneficiary?
 
Thirsty said:
You can also apply to have the executor(s) removed if application for probate is not progressing.
Click to expand...

And that's the Crux of it .. how do I find out who they are officially, when my father's solicitor who drew up the will won't say.
 
This is a bit bonkers.

Is there any property? Who is looking after it? Who handled payment for funeral etc?

Edit to add, I see yr note that yr brother is living in the family home.

Write to Solicitor.
Ask if he holds a copy of your fathers last will.
As him to forward the enclosed letter to the executor(s).
In that enclosed letter you ask the executor(s) to make contact and advise of progress.
If no response within a reasonable timeframe then you make application to remove executor(s).
 
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