Quick question about Wills

psycho-hope

Hi folks, don't know if anyone can help me or not but is there anywhere i can view a will from the mid 1950's trying to solve a bit of a family mystery of how a certain patch of land ended up in the hands of a priest who was of no relation to the family
thanks

shanew

I think wills probated over 20 years ago are held in the National Archives.



Shane

psycho-hope

thanks shane, will ring them next week, had no joy with there website

pinkypinky

I think it might be 30 years but either way the Probate Office will be able to tell you - but keep in mind that probate was/is not a requirement so if it wasn't probated there won't be a public record of it.

psycho-hope

pinkypinky wrote: »

I think it might be 30 years but either way the Probate Office will be able to tell you - but keep in mind that probate was/is not a requirement so if it wasn't probated there won't be a public record of it.

thanks pinky, i honestly think its gonna be a dead end but promised gran i'd try

Jellybaby1

psycho-hope wrote: »

Hi folks, don't know if anyone can help me or not but is there anywhere i can view a will from the mid 1950's trying to solve a bit of a family mystery of how a certain patch of land ended up in the hands of a priest who was of no relation to the family
thanks

Now that's an interesting situation! Would love to know how you get on. I'll soon be searching for a few wills for my g.father and my gg.father and eventually there would be a few in my in-laws family. What do I need to get access - do I have to prove that I'm a blood relative, or can anyone apply to see wills?

psycho-hope

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

What do I need to get access - do I have to prove that I'm a blood relative, or can anyone apply to see wills?

ill let you know when i find out Jelly:)

pedroeibar1

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

Now that's an interesting situation! Would love to know how you get on. I'll soon be searching for a few wills for my g.father and my gg.father and eventually there would be a few in my in-laws family. What do I need to get access - do I have to prove that I'm a blood relative, or can anyone apply to see wills?

Wills that have gone to probate were in the public domain. There was a successful challenge to this in the High Court a couple of years ago (on the grounds of Data Protection / Privacy) the result of which was that only beneficiaries could have access to the full documentation. What is now excluded for non-beneficiaries is the Revenue affidavit - it contains the juicier bits of financial info,;) hence the HC ruling. A phone call to the Probate office in the FourCourts should point you in the right direction Have a look at http://www.courts.ie/Courts.ie/Library3.nsf/PageCurrent/D6536B4B00396842802575AF003E0ECC?OpenDocument
Rs
P.

Jellybaby1

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

Wills that have gone to probate were in the public domain. There was a successful challenge to this in the High Court a couple of years ago (on the grounds of Data Protection / Privacy) the result of which was that only beneficiaries could have access to the full documentation. What is now excluded for non-beneficiaries is the Revenue affidavit - it contains the juicier bits of financial info,;) hence the HC ruling. A phone call to the Probate office in the FourCourts should point you in the right direction Have a look at http://www.courts.ie/Courts.ie/Library3.nsf/PageCurrent/D6536B4B00396842802575AF003E0ECC?OpenDocument
Rs
P.

Thanks for that info but alas, I'm drowning in a sea of legal jargon here. Having read it and the links, it looks to me like only beneficiaries can get access, which I'm not. Can anyone help me out here please?

pedroeibar1

I noted the decision at the time but did not need to go further down that road as I received a present of a copy of the will I was looking for.:)

I’ve read through the link I posted and in it there is another, http://www.courts.ie/Courts.ie/Library3.nsf/PageCurrent/F2051BFE4462AAB3802575AF003E0ED0?opendocument&l=en
which states :

Searches and copies.
Once a grant of probate or letters of administration have issued, the original will, the oath and bond, become available for inspection. Copies may be obtained on payment of the appropriate fee by any member of the public - section 42 of the Succession Act, 1965. See practice direction HC49 for the new rules on accessing the Inland Revenue affidavit.
The Probate Office holds the records for grants which have issued within the past 20 years. The records for grants which issued prior to this are held at the National Archives. These may be inspected in the Reading Room of the National Archives, Bishop Street, Dublin 8.
The Probate Office also holds records of all grants which have issued from the 14 District Probate Registries within the past 20 years. However, the documents relating to the application for the grant are held in the District Registry from which the grant issued, and copies may be applied for in that registry. Contact the individual District Probate Registry for their requirements.
The public may attend in person at the Probate General Office to inspect the records, or may make an inquiry by post There is a fee for a postal search. The Probate Office will require the deceased's name, address and date of death in order to carry out a search.

The High Court decision ‘made confidential’ the Revenue affidavit which is one document in the collection of documents in the probate process. The information in the Revenue Affidavit primarily is a very detailed list of assets of the deceased and its publication was deemed to breach data protection laws. However, my understanding from reading the Courts site is that any member of the public can see the will once it has been probated, but only the beneficiaries can access the full detail of the Revenue Affidavit.
The will itself is not part of that judgement so all you need is a trip to the Probate Office (if the will went to probate there) and your wallet. A copy of the will is Euro 6, and a sealed certified copy is euro11. Curious to know how you get on, I might have to do it yet .
Rs
P.

Jellybaby1

Thank you pedroeibar1 for that clarification. I'm on a separate hunt at present but when I get to the wills I will definitely report back here as soon as I can.

paulio84

what happens when child dies before parent and will was never changed.

P. Breathnach

paulio84 wrote: »

what happens when child dies before parent and will was never changed.

Is this a genealogy question (old stuff) or a legal question (recent stuff)?

The law that currently apples is the Succession Act, 1965. The wording of the will is important, and the question can not be reliably answered without seeing it.

annieoburns

The will should be worded clearly to cover this situation. In my family, the legacy passes to the children of the person who had died. In other words, the grandchildren would inherit from the grandparent directly and the widow/er is not included. Something to think about when making a will? Who 'minds' this inheritance if the grandchildren are still minors?

Equality

Re: Wills - as suggested, the probate office, if it has the will, can provide a copy of the will. This is a public document, anyone can get it.

Re: Land/property - an even better option is to identify the land on a map, and look for a copy of the folio or deeds (ownership papers). There is a form if you wish to apply for this. The descendant of any owner, or the descendant of a sibling if the owner was childless, can get the deeds/folio, if I recall correctly. I did this years ago in respect of some family land, there was a space on the application form for listing your relationship to the former owner.

Mollymoo19

psycho-hope wrote: »

Hi folks, don't know if anyone can help me or not but is there anywhere i can view a will from the mid 1950's trying to solve a bit of a family mystery of how a certain patch of land ended up in the hands of a priest who was of no relation to the family
thanks

Hi psycho-hope, not sure if you are aware, last April, the NAI made copies of wills, etc (1922 - 1983) publicly available via their web-site. http://www.nationalarchives.ie/2012/04/will-calendars-1922-1982-online/

I find the site hard to navigate but Cigo created a great index to them here: http://www.cigo.ie/httpwww.cigo.iewills.html

MM

shanew

Mollymoo19 wrote: »

Hi psycho-hope, not sure if you are aware, last April, the NAI made copies of wills, etc (1922 - 1983) publicly available via their web-site. http://www.nationalarchives.ie/2012/04/will-calendars-1922-1982-online/

I find the site hard to navigate but Cigo created a great index to them here: http://www.cigo.ie/httpwww.cigo.iewills.html

MM

those are Will & Administration Calendars, rather than the actual wills



S.