It’s a foregone conclusion for most parents that they will leave everything of value to their children in the event of their death.
But these days, parents are having fewer children and living longer which means inheritances are no longer a guarantee.
In an effort to reduce the number of challenges to wills, the Law Reform Commission has reviewed part of the 1965 Succession Act and made recommendations that the existing law ought to be changed, according to The Irish Independent.
Many adult children have won a greater share of an inheritance than provided for them in a will by using the argument that their parents had “a moral duty” to provide for them in court.
The Law Reform Commission report recommends that the wording of the law be amended so it will state that a deceased parent has a duty to make "proper provision" for a child rather than a “moral duty”.
Under the new proposals, all adult children aged over 18 or over 23 if in full-time education will be considered to already have been provided for and there will be no requirement for their parents to provide an inheritance.
There are three cases in which exceptions would be provided for under the proposed law. These are where the adult child has a particular financial need arising from their health or decision-making capacity, where the estate contains an item of particular sentimental value to the adult child, or where the adult child has provided care and support to the deceased during their life.
Solicitor Richard Hammond cautiously welcomed the news saying it could stop unnecessary court cases: "The existence of clearer parameters should reduce litigation where a child, though genuinely disappointed, has little basis for proceeding, thereby saving cost to all involved."
However, he said there was a possibility the proposed reforms could exclude “genuine hardship cases” where adult children were in need of financial support.
The commission has also recommended that when someone dies without leaving a will, their children should be allowed make an application to the courts for a share of their parent’s estate.
Under current law, children of the deceased are not allowed to this and the parent’s estate is divided into a number of specifically fixed shares between the members of the immediate family.
