A Caveat automatically expires after 6 months unless a warning is lodged (see below).
How to enter a caveat:
- You can do it yourself, or use a solicitor. If you do not have an address for service within this jurisdiction you must use a solicitor (Order 79 Rule 43)
- You will need:
- A completed caveat
- A fee of €100.00, payable by stamped court fees, 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.
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A Caveat may be withdrawn in writing - so long as it has not been Warned - by the Caveator or the Solicitor acting on behalf of the Caveator.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 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.
Warnings
- Caveats may be set aside by lodging a "Warning" against the Caveat
- This may be done by the person entitled to extract a grant of representation.
- 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 Court, or by Consent of both parties.
- If no appearance is lodged within the 14 working days, the Caveat may be set aside by the lodging an Affidavit of Service and a fee of €40.00 (being €20.00 for the lodging of an affidavit, and €20.00 for the certificate of no appearance). 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.