Probate delays cause families ‘significant financial hardship’
Royal London said an analysis of claims last year found the average time taken to complete probate — proving a will in Ireland — was 16 months. In England, it takes between three and four weeks to obtain a grant of probate.
“This delay can result in significant financial hardship for the family and estate of the deceased policyholder, as they wait for the proceeds of the life assurance policy,” said Joe Charles from Royal London.
“We are now calling on the Government to consider our proposals for improvements which are aimed at increasing efficiency and speeding up the probate system.”
Royal London, meanwhile, pointed out the 2016 Census showed there were 198,000 vacant homes, excluding holiday properties across Ireland.
Some experts believe some of the homes are empty due to delays in granting probate, which exacerbates Ireland’s housing crisis.
Probate is the process of transferring the ownership of assets, paying off debts and finalising the legal affairs of a deceased individual.
A national consumer survey commissioned by Royal London Ireland found over half (56%) of Irish people thought the legal process concerning wills and inheritance took less than six months to complete.
Royal London found six months was the shortest time that probate was received last year in Ireland and the longest was over three years. Once the grant of probate was received, it took just five days for claims to be processed and payments made.
The Law Society of Ireland suggests a wait time of upwards of three months, at least, before a grant of probate can be issued but points out it can take considerably longer in certain cases.
Probate services in Britain, meanwhile, allow people to apply for and access probate themselves as ‘personal applicants’ without the assistance of solicitors.
In Ireland, the use of solicitors is actively encouraged and the report says the “exclusivity of the probate service” must be addressed.
Royal London Ireland found it was considerably harder to make an application for probate in Ireland without a lawyer and called for the process to be simplified.
The report highlights the lack of good quality guidance on the probate process in Ireland, describing it as limited and basic compared to Britain.
