The sale of Mr Charles Haughey's Kinsealy mansion and estate will avoid the possibility of Haughey family assets being tied up for years in legal wrangles because of unresolved issues relating to tribunal costs.
Under current tribunal legislation, Mr Haughey could face an order to pay some or all of the costs of the Moriarty tribunal, if the tribunal makes findings against him.
However, should Mr Haughey, who is 78, die before the conclusion of the tribunal and its findings on costs, the tribunal could still move to prevent the execution of Mr Haughey's will and the administration of his estate, until the costs issue is resolved.
This could effectively prevent the sale or distribution of any assets belonging to Mr Haughey's estate for a considerable time.
The Moriarty tribunal is not expected to conclude its work for another year and a full report on its findings is still a considerable way off. Decisions on the awarding of costs would not be expected until some period after the final ruling, and the decisions themselves could also be liable to lengthy court challenges. A ruling on costs relating to the interim report of the Flood tribunal, which was published last September, is not expected until at least next year.
The ownership of the Kinsealy estate, which was sold to Manor Park homes for 45 million on Tuesday, was divided between Mr Haughey and his four children, Conor, Ciarán, Seán and Eimear.
Mr Haughey owned Abbeville House itself and 20 acres surrounding the building, while the children owned the remainder of the 235-acre estate. Such an ownership structure would have made the disposal of part or all of the property extremely difficult in the event of a question of liability regarding the estate of Mr Haughey.