The Gazette 1989

GAZETTE

pril

1989

this

Issue

Viewpoint

195

Summary Judgment on

foot of an Architect's

Certificate — a conflict

resolved?

From the President

Practice Notes

Social Welfare Appeals

System

Unit Linked Funds

Minutes of Half Yearly

Meeting

People and Places

Reservation of Title

Younger Members News

Book Reviews

Correspondence

Professional Information

— *

Cover Photo:

Ernest J. Margetson,

Senior Vice President of the Law Society

(left) with Mr. Peter Prost, Managing

Director of Sedgwick Dineen Personal

Financial Management.

Executive Editor:

Mary Gaynor

Committee:

Geraldine Clarke, Chairman

Eamonn G. Hall, Vice-Chairman

John F. Buckley

Gary Byrne

Patrick McMahon

Charles R. M. Meredith

Daire Murphy

John Schutte

Advertising:

Seán Ó hOisín. Telephone: 305236

307860

Printing:

Turner's Printing Co. Ltd., Longford.

The views expressed in this publication,

save where otherwise indicated, are the

views of the contributors and not

necessarily the views of the Council of

the Society.

The appearance of an advertisement in

this publication does not necessarily

indicate approval by the Society for the

product or service advertised.

Published at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.

Tel.: 7 1 0 7 1 1.

Telex: 31 219.

Fax: 7 1 0 7 0 4.

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Vol.83No.6June 1

Viewpoint

The Legal profession are constantly

being made aware of the difficulties

caused by clients who do not make

Wills. An even greater problem can

occur where a Will is made but then

lost. If Wills had to be registered

then the exact location of the Will

would never be in doubt. The

creation of a Wills Register is a

reform which is long overdue in

Irish Law. A requirement that all

Wills be lodged in a Wills Registry

within a certain given time after

being made would help address the

difficulties which can arise.

One of the main objections to a

Wills Registry is that the privacy of

the individual may be infringed.

This need not be the case. It would

be possible to ensure that Wills

could only be inspected by the

Testator during his lifetime or pro-

duced to his Executor on the

evidence of a death certificate.

Under such a scheme Solicitors

would still, of course, keep a copy

of the Will so they would be in a

position to advise the client on its

contents and the necessity for

updating it. The Registry would

simply eliminate the difficulties

which can arise when the location

of a Will is in doubt or there is a

query as to whether any Will was

actually made.

It is interesting to note that the

Registry of Deeds was originally

conceived as a Registry of Deeds

and Wills. However, registering of

Wills never took off, perhaps due to

fears over confidentiality.

Another practical problem which

can arise when someone dies is

locating their assets. This is

particularly so when money might

have been discreetly put away as

security against a "rainy day".

Frequently the spouse or children

will have been too polite to ask the

deceased what he actually did with

his savings.

Deposit books, prize bond

receipts and insurance policies are

frequently found in an old brown

envelope in the bottom drawer. But

if the deceased was more creative

and imaginative, these valuable

documents may be lost forever and

the funds remain unclaimed.

The Law Society has tried to deal

with this problem by providing

solicitors with a form of Asset

is completed by the person making

the Will and then left in a safe place

with the original Will so that the

Executor will have a list of his

possessions. The only problem

with the Asset Register is that, to

be of any value, it does have to be

updated frequently.

These two practical problems of

lost Wills and lost Assets could be

overcome with a correct procedure

being set up as part of a nationwide

Wills Registry System but this can

only come about when the public

overcome their fear of Wills in

general. It is surprising in this day

and age that still 50% of those

people who need to make Wills fail

to do so.

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