Sir, – As an experienced practising solicitor, I wish to comment on “Staff shortages and solicitor errors contributing to probate grant delays” (News, October 25th).
Delays in the issue of grants of probate (where there is a will) or administration (where there is not), whether these originate in the Probate Office or in a solicitor’s firm, or in exchanges between the two, are not victimless. They contribute significantly to the housing shortage because properties are tied up for months and cannot be sold until the grant issues. The collection of inheritance taxes is delayed significantly. Most importantly, bereaved families are held up in their dealings with the assets of a deceased member.
There is no intrinsic reason for these delays. The vast majority of cases are, or should be, uncomplicated. Once, my office got a grant five days after the application was made, which we consider a record, but which proves it can be done.
It is an oversimplification to attribute the rejection of applications to solicitors’ errors. It may well be the case, as suggested in the article, that some firms adopt a careless attitude to their applications. I can only say that mine does not, but we still get a percentage of rejections, the reasons for which can be bewildering, if admittedly rooted in the myriad rules and practices applied by the Probate Office, but which are not easily understood.
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If 60 per cent of applications are being rejected, I suggest that the real question to be considered is why the process has become so complicated that this many rejections happen, and what can be done to address this, and prevent these delays. The answer is surely in the better use of modern technology. The Passport Office and the Revenue Commissioners have developed interactive websites which eliminate mistakes and have made the process of the delivery of their services much more streamlined. If incorrect information is entered or a question is not properly answered, the system will not allow the application to progress until it is corrected, and errors are thereby eliminated.
The Property Registration Authority has applied technology which has revolutionised the proof of land ownership and property transactions. While it has its challenges, its systems must be among the best in the world. The website gives detailed and easily accessible property information and is excellent.
By contrast the Probate Office does not even have a website. Some information is available on the Courts Service one, but it is in no way interactive, and applications are still completely paper based and manually dealt with. There is no doubt that individuals do their best and that staff resources are stretched, but root-and-branch reform of the system is called for. – Yours, etc,
BRYAN ARMSTRONG
Hegarty & Armstrong LLP
Solicitors,
Sligo.