Disinheritance

Fr0g

Hypothetical situation:
Husband & Wife sell all their assets to one child for less than market value and disinherits other children. Where do the other children of the marraige stand legally.
Can anyone point me to a similar case?
thanks in advance for your replies.

dermot_sheehan

Fr0g wrote:

Hypothetical situation:
Husband & Wife sell all their assets to one child for less than market value and disinherits other children. Where do the other children of the marraige stand legally.
Can anyone point me to a similar case?
thanks in advance for your replies.

s. 117 of the succession act requires that proper provision be made for them. http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA27Y1965S117.html

Case law on this section, if I recall, states that many things can constitute "proper provision", e.g. the fact that one child got a college education could be considered proper provision, I don't have any of the case law dealing with this section to hand and haven't studied it for 3 years.


s. 121 allows dispositions made to defeat a spouse's legal right share or legal share of the children to be set aside if made within 3 years of the death
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA27Y1965S121.html

Fr0g

OK. So, from reading the acts it seems that both parents, if in agreement, can dispose of their assets before death to one child. Does it matter if the other children were not consulted beforehand? Or that the assets were sold at less than market value?

rsynnott

Fr0g wrote:

OK. So, from reading the acts it seems that both parents, if in agreement, can dispose of their assets before death to one child. Does it matter if the other children were not consulted beforehand? Or that the assets were sold at less than market value?

(IANAL)
Can't see why, as long as the "proper provision" is satisfied.

besty

I would imagine that the contract of sale to the chosen children would trump any forseen inheritance...

elivsvonchiaing

Fr0g wrote:

OK. So, from reading the acts it seems that both parents, if in agreement, can dispose of their assets before death to one child. Does it matter if the other children were not consulted beforehand? Or that the assets were sold at less than market value?

Can only think the Criminal Assets Bureau Legislation just might cover this in some form - below market value rings a lot of bells.

Think stamp duty revenue-protection would also come into this... Dunno.
Anyone?

ps. I think if you want to disinherit your kids the terms of the disinheritment must simply be compliant with the laws of their domicile and obey tax law where you died. Where disinheritment comes before death is often a matter of a screwed-up family.

In a family love does not always exist; It is a vast mistake to try to take a financial perpective on this and to attempt to claim your perceived justified claim.

This is not legal advice - just what I have seen!

Ps. I said "I think" this is strictly not legal advice; the post is here merely to attact more legally accurate postings.

Elivs

Fr0g

elivsvonchiaing wrote:

Where disinheritment comes before death is often a matter of a screwed-up family.
Elivs

How true!

I understand the bit about not taking anything here as legal advice which is why I have put it forward as a hypothesis.

Having said that, it looks like im screwed!

Thanks for all your replies any other advice is welcome