My husband passed away recently. He made a will prior to his death and he left the farm to our son. The farm was in his name, but we farmed it together all our married life. Our home was also in his name and he left me with just a life interest in my home and after my death it will also pass to our son. I am very disappointed, and I feel ill-treated. I had assumed that he would leave all to me and I could then pass all to our son on my death. I am still quite young, and I am worried about having enough money to support myself going forward. My relationship with my son can be strained at times. Is there anything I can do?
The law governing wills, namely the Succession Act, 1965, provides unique protection for spouses of the deceased in Ireland.
You refer to a will and I am assuming that your late husband’s will is valid. Please ensure that his will was made in a solicitor’s office and meet the requirements of a valid will.
By law, are entitled to at least one-third of your late husband’s estate if he died having made a valid will. This one-third share is based on the fact that you had children together. If you had no children together then you would have been entitled to at least half of his husband’s estate. This entitlement is called a legal right share. The legal right share ranks in priority after the rights of creditors of the deceased and ahead of any other beneficiary.
You do not have to go to court to get your entitlement as the executor of his estate is obliged to grant this share to you where applicable. You should contact your Solicitor immediately to obtain legal advice as strict time limits apply in respect of claiming your inheritance share. Byrne Carolan Cunningham LLP Solicitors specialist Wills and Inheritance Law Solicitors will be happy to advise you.
This column is prepared by Dolores Gacquin, solicitor. Byrne Carolan Cunningham has offices in Galway, Athlone, Moate, and Lanesboro. A person should always contact their solicitor to obtain legal advice specific to their own situation. This above column contains general advice and cannot be relied upon as legal advice. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.
Call Byrne Carolan Cunningham on (090 ) 6478433.
