Call for national registry of wills

A national registry of wills should be established to prevent thousands of Irish people losing out on their inheritances, a former Government minister said today.

Fianna Fáil Senator Terry Leyden is to table a private members motion on the issue in the Seanad tonight and invite Law Reform Minister Michael McDowell to respond.

The former Trade and Marketing Minister said there was currently no official registry to log wills and this leads to documents being mislaid or simply not recorded.

He said: “There’s a lot of taboo and superstition about making wills in Ireland which has clouded a very serious issue.

“A total of 5,400 wills were rebated last year so it is a very big area. An official record of wills would clarify disputes and prevent unnecessary legal wrangling between thousands of family members who may feel they’re losing out on inheritances.”

Mr Leyden claimed a 1972 Council of Europe directive called for a central registry of wills, but successive Irish governments never acted on it.

He added: “You had one case last year where a fire in a solicitor’s office actually destroyed all the wills contained in it.”

Mr Leyden suggested that a registry could come under the responsibility of the Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths, which has been decentralised to Roscommon town.

Legislation will be required if Mr McDowell agrees to the proposal and Mr Leyden said he is prepared to draft a Private Member’s Bill on the issue

Any change in the law would require solicitors to register the existence of all wills at the central office.

The relatives of deceased people could then check with this office to see if their loved one had made a will before their death.