​Registration of Wills Bill 2016

​Background to ​Registration of Wills Bill 2016

  • In 2005 Senator Terry Leyden made history by ensuring the taking in the Seanad of a Private Members’ Bill introduced by a Government Member of the House.
  • The Bill was approved unanimously by the Fianna Fáil Senators and the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party at a meeting attended by the Taoiseach, and all Ministers, including the Chief Whip, Deputy Tom Kitt.
  • As Minister of State Leyden, he had brought some Bills through the Seanad but they were provided by the Civil Service, they were never Private Members’ Bills. So what happened on Wednesday 9th of November 2005 was historic and set a precedent for legislation.
  • In introducing the Bill Senator Leyden asserted it was of universal importance, was not a party political issue and would benefit the majority of people.
  • It had come to Senator Leyden’s attention that many people have been deprived of their rightful inheritance by the lack of a will or the inability to find the will of a family member.
  • They have been done a great disservice by the State and this Bill is the only way to rectify the situation.
  • When Senator Leyden returned to the Oireachtas other cases came to his attention where wills had allegedly been made but not found.
  • In 2004, he pointed out how some 5,400 wills were probated in Ireland but more than 28,000 people died. This significant shortfall demonstrates his point — many people do not make wills.
  • Many make private wills but these are normally held with their papers and documents.
  • The only individuals required to register a will are Catholic clergy. Every Catholic cleric must leave a copy of his will in the possession of the bishop.
  • There is no requirement on the solicitors registered in this country who execute and make wills to provide lists that would be held in a central bona fide registry such as the General Register Office in Roscommon.
  • At present, a person makes a will with a solicitor who records it in his or her book of wills and the document is held in the legal firm’s safe deposit box. The Law Society Gazette regularly advertises requests for the whereabouts of wills that have been mislaid, are missing or cannot be found. Many people who would otherwise be entitled to inheritances from wills have been deprived.
  • Senator Leyden quoted Jack Lemmon, ‘“Death ends a life, not a relationship”. There are pages and pages of people searching for lost wills in the Law Society Gazette in the hope that their loved one made a will. Many people make wills not knowing that sometimes they may not be executed correctly or at all. It is a unique situation where the purchaser of this service has no after-sales come back. We have a responsibility to ensure that citizen’s wishes are honoured and given the proper legal recognition they deserve.’
  • In the course of his research Senator Leyden discovered a Council of Europe convention for the establishment of a scheme of registration of wills. This dates back to 1972 but was never ratified by Ireland.
  • The main aim of the convention was the provision of a registration scheme enabling a testator to register his will to reduce the risk of the will remaining unknown or being found belatedly, and to facilitate the discovery of the existence of the will after the death of the testator.
  • This was on account of the situation where a growing number of persons make their will away from home and even in a foreign country.
  • Since most member states do not require wills to be deposited with a court of law, a notary or another authority, and have no central register, the heirs are often unaware of the existence and the whereabouts of a will.
  • In 2011 Senator Leyden made it clear that a voluntary approach based on persuasion must be adopted at this stage. In that regard, the proposals in the Bill are interim arrangements. One cannot introduce a law imposing fines on solicitors who fail to register a will. At a certain point, however, the procedure should be that when a will is made a fee will be paid and the will sent to the General Register Office where it will be held securely and no one, other than the testator or, in the event of his or her death, the family of the testator, will have access to it. This would allow families, on the production of a death certificate, to check whether a will had been made and access its contents. This process will be slow but it was hoped at some point all wills registered in solicitors' offices will be held at a central location.
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​Provisions of Bill

  • The Bill will enable a person who makes a will, or his or her solicitor, to voluntarily register the name and address of the custodian of his or her will. This will reduce the risk of the will remaining unknown or being found belatedly. It will also facilitate the discovery of a will after the death of the person who made it.
  • This Bill provides for the privacy of the registered particulars of the will prior to the testator’s death. This will underpin the development of a modern system of registration of wills that responds to the needs of modern society.
  • The Registration of Wills Bill provides a clear statutory basis for the registration of wills by extending the civil registration service.
  • The register of wills will be kept in the General Register Office in Roscommon.
  • Having the register of deaths, births and marriages in Roscommon has been a tremendous boost to the town and surrounding areas. It has also provided a great service to members of the public.
  • The Bill amends the Civil Registration Act 2004 and provides a clear statutory basis for the registration of wills by extending the Civil Registration Service.
  • Part 1 contains the usual provisions for a Short Title, collective citation, definitions and commencement.
  • Part 2 outlines the organisational structure for the administration of the register of wills.
  • Part 3 provides for the registration of wills.
  • Part 4 provides for miscellaneous amendments to the Civil Registration Act 2004.
  • Section 10 provides for the registration of wills by a registrar of any local registration authority. Qualified informants may register wills at a convenient office by providing the required particulars of the will and signing the register in the presence of the registrar. A qualified informant is the testator or his or her instructed solicitor. The required particulars of the will are set out in the Schedule and include the name and address of the custodian of the will, the testator’s signature, name, address, sex, date and place of birth and personal public service number, the informant’s signature and name and address, the date of registration and the registrar’s signature. Subsection (3) provides that one or more wills, including codicils, made by the same testator may be registered or re-registered. This means that if a person decides to change his or her will, he or she can register or at least indicate the location of the new will.
  • Section 11 provides that information held in the register of wills shall not be accessible to members of the public and or made available except as provided for under section 12. This ensures the privacy of will records. The will would not be held in the General Register Office but either by the testator or a solicitor’s office or in another safe location identified in the registration.
  • Section 12 requires the Registrar General or a member of his or her staff authorised by him or her to search the register of wills and provide a certified copy of an entry in such register at the request of an applicant on payment of the appropriate fee, provided the death of the testator has been registered or the applicant is the testator. This means that a copy of the registered entry is only available to the testator or someone else on the death of the testator.

Current legislative stage 

Second stage of the Oireachtas www.oireachtas.ie/en/bills/bill/2016/50/
Recent Press
02 December 2018
Charlie Weston - Irish Independent 
www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/charlie-weston-a-register-of-wills-would-be-good-start-in-modernising-our-outdated-probate-process--37585629.html


Other points to note: 

2011 Bill
  • In July 2011, Senator Leyden reintroduced the bill in the Seanad saying that the difficulty he experienced when he had a similar Bill passed in the Seanad was that he was unable to secure time in the Dáil.
  • In addition, registration and the General Register Office were transferred from the then Department of Health and Children to the then Department of Social and Family Affairs. This created further delays and difficulties.
See detail here 
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