John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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166. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason the current wait time for the probate officer to deal with a non-contentious will is between six and seven months; if the wait time could be reviewed in cases where there is only one sole beneficiary, for example, a child; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25937/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Probate Office is an office of the High Court and management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in exercising its functions under the Courts Service Act 1998.

However in order to be of assistance I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that the current waiting time for Grants of Representation is 16 weeks for applications lodged by a solicitor and 24 weeks for personal applications.

Where a person elects to apply for a Grant without the assistance of a solicitor the process requires significant support from the Probate Office and is more resource intensive. The Probate Office is actively involved in preparing the necessary paperwork and in servicing queries from the applicants by way of telephone, e-mail or post. Each personal applicant is required to attend at the Probate Office in person by prior appointment to complete the application process.

All applications for Grants of Representation in deceased persons' estates are made on foot of a number of mandatory legal documents which must be furnished by the applicants and these require detailed checking by the Probate Office to ensure that the estate of the deceased person is administered correctly and in accordance with the law. Such documentation is required irrespective of the number of beneficiaries to an estate. The number of beneficiaries is not a determining factor in terms of the assessment of these applications and has no bearing on the delay in processing applications.

All applications are assessed on the basis of the date on which they are lodged, an approach which provides fairness and equity to all applicants. Priority can only be given to probate applications where it is considered that extenuating circumstances so warrant. In such circumstances it is open to applicants to bring the matter to the attention of the Probate Office.

A review of the Probate System is being carried out at present and a report will issue in due course with recommendations for the modernisation of the process. Submissions have been sought in relation to the matter and should be submitted withoutdelay to probateservicereview@courts.ie.