We buy, sell and Remortgage all types of property.

Conveyancing

There are two places where property is registered. One is the Registry of Deeds and trhe other is the Land Registry. You do not have an option as to which type of registration you can proceed with generally, but you can, if you choose to register a property which was previously registered in the Registry of Deeds, in the Land Registry as a first registration. If you continue to register a property in the manner it has always been registered in you will find that registration in the Registry of Deeds is a great deal cheaper than the Land Registry. Both registries are run by the State and every property bought, sold, or mortgaged is registered in one or the other. Long term leases can be registered as a burden in either location.

We advise everybody to have a will, no matter how little or how much a person owns, they may have to make a will if they want their possessions to go to the people they wish them to go to. It is imperative, in particular minor children, would have a will as when making a will you will need to choose an executor who is the person for ensuring that the directions in the will are followed. If there are minor children who are beneficiaries you will require at least two trustees who will look after any benefit given to the children until they are eighteen or older depending on what you say in your will.

A will change be changed at any time. When a person dies leaving a will the executor extracts a Grant of Probate, where no will is in place letters of administration are granted. It is only with letters of administration or a grant of probate that another person can deal with the deceased’s estate.

An executor has twelve months from the date of death to administer the estate and if matters have not been completed by those time, other beneficiaries can query why that would be the case and can also make an application to court if they believe it necessary to administer the estate themselves.

There are two categories of people who are made wards of court. One, in an adult who does not have the mental capacity to act on their behalf and the second are persons under the age of eighteen years in need of protection from the court. Any person of the age of eighteen years and of sound mind can create and Enduring Power of Attorney. The person creating an Enduring Power of Attorney is called a Donor. The Donor appoints and Attorney to act on their behalf is they ever become mentally incapable of looking after their own affairs. The advantage of creating an Enduring Power of Attorney is that you choose the person who will be looking after your needs and you also choose to the degree to which they can act on your behalf.

The spouse who has day to day care and control of the dependent children are said to have custody of the children but it is possible to have joint custody which means both parents have custody and day to day control of the children with one parent. The parent who does not have day to day control of the children will tend to have access to the children. Access will be agreed either between the parties or by a Court if the parties cannot agree. Grandparents can also make an application to a Court for access to see grandchildren where they are being prevented from doing so.

It is usual for maintenance to be paid for the children to the parent who has day to day control of the children. Even if both names are not on the Title Deeds to the family home the house cannot be sold without the consent of spouse whose name is not on the Title Deeds.

Safety Order – A Safety Order is an Order preventing a person from using violence or threating to use violence against a person and or dependent children.

Protection Order – A Protection Order is a temporary Safety Order which lasts until the hearing of the Safety Order application.

Barring Order – A Barring Order forces a person against who it is made to leave the home and say away from the applicant and stay away from the applicant and dependent children.

• Wills And Probate
• Enduring Power of Attorney
• Ward of Court

While there is no current legal basis for pre-nuptial agreements in Ireland they are becoming more popular. A pre-nuptial agreement is contract signed by two people prior to marriage in which they deal with their assets in the event of marriage breakdown.

It is certain that one of these agreements will come before the court at some point and a decision will be made whether or not they are valid.

Separation and Divorce
Before applying to a court for a divorce, the spouses must be living apart for a period of four out of the last five years. Before making an order for a judicial separation or divorce the court will take many matters into consideration. These will include dependent children, and their future needs and welfare, the financial situation of both parties, accommodation and property, pensions, succession rights and so on.

Separation Agreements
Where possible the first step in entering into a separation agreement is for the spouses to go to Mediation. Mediation is a process offered by the Family Mediation Services. They are not solicitors but do assist separating couples to resolve any disputes they may have in respect of children, property, etc with as little conflict as possible. Once a mediated agreement has been reached the agreement is passed on to the solicitors in order to draft a Deed of Separation which is a legal contract based on the mediated agreement.

If a couple do not require mediation and resolve all issues between then one of their solicitors can draft a separation agreement for them and the other solicitor then approves that agreement.

If people fail to reach agreement they can then issue proceedings for a judicial separation that is granted by the court. If they have been separated for four out of the five previous years they can make an application for a divorce.

Pension Rights
Sometimes one or both spouses have a pension and this pension can be a significant assets. It is therefore important that a full value be put on a pension, pension benefits including lump sums.

There are generally two types of pension: Defined Benefit. This is a retirement benefit based on a person’s final salary and service with an employer and is the norm for state employees and some larger companies. Defined Contribution Pension are based on monies contributed to the pension and the final benefit is dependant on the value of the fund at the time of retirement.

Pension Adjustment Orders are generally required where a couple have separated and this order must be made by a court.

• Divorce
• Custody and Access,
• Children and Maintence
• Pension Rights
• Separation Agreements
• Barring Orders
• Pre-Nuptial agreements