- How to Enter a Caveat
- Warnings and Appearances
- Consent to Set Aside a Caveat
- Citations
- Sidebar Orders
A Caveat automatically expires after 6 months unless a Warning is lodged (see below).
As of 1st March 2021, there are new fees as set out in Statutory Instrument No 80 of 2021. We are in the process of updating the information below. Please note that caveats now require a fee of €100.00.
How to enter a Caveat
You will need:
- A completed caveat
- A fee of €100.00, payable by stamped court fees on the caveat form, or debit/credit card if lodged in person.
Lodge the Caveat in the Probate Rules Office, or the relevant District Probate Registry where the deceased resided
Warnings and Subsequent Legal Developments
The person entitled to extract a grant of representation may warn a Caveat. If the person who lodged the Caveat does not appear to the warning, the Caveat will cease to have effect. If an appearance is lodged, the Caveat may only be set aside by an Order of the Court, or on consent of both parties.
Withdrawing a Caveat
A Caveat may be withdrawn in writing - so long as it has not been Warned - by the Caveator or the Solicitor acting on behalf of the Caveator. No fee is required for this submission.
Warnings and Appearances
Warnings
Caveats may be set aside by lodging a “Warning” against the Caveat.
This may be done by anyone with an interest in the estate.
To issue a warning, we require:
- 4 copies of the warning
- If the person who lodged the Caveat has a solicitor on record, the warning should be addressed to that solicitor’s firm. If they lodged the Caveat in their own capacity, it should be addressed to the address given on the Caveat.
- The fee is €30.00, payable by stamped court fees, or debit/credit card if lodged in person.
If the warning is in order, the Probate Officer will sign it and the Probate Rules Office will stamp it with an issue date. The warning must be served within 14 working days of the stamped date. Service may be personal or by registered post.
The person who lodged the Caveat then has 14 working days within which to lodge an appearance, from the date of service.
Appearance/Certificate of No Appearance
The person who lodged the Caveat may lodge an appearance in person or by post by:
- Completing and signing the appearance.
- The fee is €30.00, payable by stamped court fees, or debit/credit card if lodged in person.
If a Caveat has been warned and an appearance has been lodged, the Caveat remains in place indefinitely, and may only be set aside by an Order of the Court, or by Consent of both parties.
If no appearance is lodged within the 14 working days, the Caveat may be set aside by lodging an Affidavit of Service and a fee of €50.00. The Probate Rules Office will prepare the certificate of no appearance on foot of the Affidavit of Service.
Consent to Set Aside a Caveat
Once a Caveat has been warned and an appearance has been lodged, the Caveat may only be set aside by a Court Order, or by consent of both parties.
We require:
- A Consent to Set Aside
- If contentious proceedings have been issued in the estate, this must be addressed on the face of the consent to set aside, and the appropriate document indicating that the matter has concluded should accompany the application (e.g. Notice of Discontinuance).
- All parties (i.e. the party or parties that lodged the Caveat and party or parties on whose behalf the warning was issued) must sign the document, in the presence of their solicitor, with a third person witnessing the same. All signatures should be accompanied by the name in print in order to facilitate preparing the Order.
- Fee of €50.00, payable by stamped court fees.
If the papers are in order, we will draft a consent order and set the Caveat aside. If an application has been stopped by the Caveat, the said application will issue in due course following the Caveat’s removal.
Citations
Citations (Order 79 Rule 52-8, and Forms 23-32 Appendix Q)
A person interested in the estate of a deceased person (e.g. a beneficiary or creditor) may issue a citation requiring the executor or other person entitled in priority to a grant to prove the will or extract a grant of letters of administration where they have failed to do so and will not renounce their rights.
We require:
- A Caveat
- 3 citations
- Grounding affidavit (exhibiting death certificate, and will where appropriate)
- A fee of €130.00 (being €30.00 for the citation, and €100.00 for lodging the Caveat), payable by stamped court fees.
If the citation is approved, it will be signed and dated by the Probate Officer and a sealed original, and copy will be returned to the applicant.
Citations must be served personally by presenting the original and leaving the copy with the cited party. If the cited party has a solicitor on record, service may be by registered post.
The cited party has 14 working days to lodge an appearance to the citation (see Side Bar Orders).
Chief State Solicitors Citations
Citations for the Chief State Solicitors must establish proof that the citation has been advertised at weekly intervals in four national publications.
Citations to Exhibit Inventories (Form 32 Appendix Q)
Where a grant of representation has issued and a person interested in the deceased’s estate wishes to compel the executor/administrator to exhibit an inventory, the procedure is the same as above, except that no Caveat is required.
To comply with the citation, the cited party must serve one copy of the inventory on the Probate Rules Office, and one copy on the citing party. It is not for the probate office to furnish the citing party with the inventory.
Side Bar Orders
Appearance to a Citation
The cited party may lodge an appearance in person or by post by:
- Completing and signing the appearance
- The fee is €30.00, payable by stamped court fees, or debit/credit card if lodged in person.
An appearance outside of the allotted time may be accepted, though this is subject to any challenge being raised by the citing party.
Where no appearance has been lodged within the 14 working days, the citing party may lodge an affidavit of service, along with a fee of €50.00, payable by stamped court fees.
The Probate Rules Office will then draft a certificate of no appearance, setting aside the cited party’s priority.
Fourteen Day Ruling
If the cited party enters an appearance but then fails to extract a grant, the party who issued the citation may, unless an extension of time for the application has been granted, file:
- A grounding affidavit
- Fee of €50.00 , payable by stamped court fees.
If the Probate Officer approves, the Probate Rules Office will draft and issue two copies of the fourteen day ruling to the applicant.
The fourteen day ruling must be served personally. If the cited party has a solicitor on record, service may be by registered post.
The subject has 14 working days to lodge an application for a grant of representation. If they fail to do so, the citing party may lodge an affidavit of service, along with a fee of €50.00, payable by stamped court fees.
The Probate Rules Office will then draft the final side bar order, setting aside the cited party’s priority.