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A will without an executor is still valid

Posted on Author By Colm Kelly

Appointing an executor does not add to the validity of a will.  For a will to be valid, what is required is the will to be

Firstly: the will must be in writing,

Secondly: the will must be signed by the person making the will (the testator) before two witnesses and the two witnesses sign the will in front of the testator.

Thirdly: the testator must be of sound mind and understanding when making the will; and

Fourthly: the testator cannot be pressured into making the will.

We always recommend that a person takes professional advice when making a will.  If you use a professional they will guide you in making the will and in particular they will make sure that you appoint an executor.

Sometimes a person will make a will at home.  We never recommend that someone does this.  Homemade wills tend to contain unforeseen traps or difficulties that cause hardship in the future.

However if a person makes a will without professional advice and fails to appoint an executor, it doesn’t mean that the will is invalid.  Appointing an executor is not a criteria for a valid will.  What is needed are the four essential criteria as listed above.

Hope this helps and if you have any will drafting or executor queries, please reach out to us on info@kerrywills.ie

Making reference to specific sites or plots of ground in a will

Posted on Author By Colm Kelly

When persons are making a will and particularly with respect to those made in more rural environments rather than in towns or cities, at times persons making their will will have earmarked a particular site for a son or daughter.  Oftentimes persons making their wills have land but not significant cash assets and want to try and give their children a “leg up” on the property ladder.  One way they considering doing this is by leaving a site to a child in a will.

In other cases, a person may have a range of property or various parcels of land.  These could be anything from two acres of farmland to twenty or more.  Sometimes clients will know these parcels by particular historical names or by means of pet names or names of the original owners.  When drafting wills, we lawyers like to keep matters as clear as possible.

So, sometimes, clients will say, “I give a site at the rear of the house”, or “I give “White’s field”” to so and so.  While the person making the will will be aware of these plots and know where they are, a person reading the will might not.

So in these types of cases, we try and identify the properties as best we can.  Normally we do this through preparing a map of the property using the Land Registry mapping system or through identifying properties with their Land Registry plan number or folio number.  The map prepared then gets appended to the will as part of the will process.

So in short, it is normal and perfectly acceptable for someone to look to leave a site or a piece of property to a friend or relative.   We have the expertise to re-shape this into the proper format and standard that would be normal in the will drafting context.

For more information or any help with will drafting please do not hesitate to contact us on info@kerrywills.ie.  Colm Kelly