Fianna Fáil Senator Terry Leyden is bringing the Registration of Wills Bill 2016 to Second Stage in Seanad Èireann tomorrow.
The Purpose of the Registration of Wills Bill 2016 is to provide a clear statutory basis for the registration of wills by extending the civil registration system. It enables a person making a will or their solicitor to register the details of the custodian of his/her will, thus reducing the risk of a will remaining unknown or being found belatedly.
Senator Leyden explained, “There is currently no central registration process for keeping track of the details of wills that have been made. The current system involves solicitors holding wills in their own possession without any central authority knowing about the existence of a will. This can be problematic if the details of a will get lost if solicitor ceases working.
“There are numerous examples of people searching for lost wills, and in many cases people are not even aware of the existence of a will in the first place. The legislation I have brought forward will create a mechanism for solicitors to register a will. This will ensure that the details of a will are not lost over time.
“This is a common sense proposal which is relatively simple to implement, but will ultimately modernise the process of creating a will. I’ll be seeking cross party support for this legislation on Wednesday 14th December in Seanad Èireann”, concluded Terry Leyden.