Wills, Probate and Estates

The eighth edition of Wills, Probate and Estates has been written to provide trainee solicitors with a clear and thorough understanding of current best practice in the area of wills, trusts, probate, and the administration of estates. The manual takes into account all recent changes in legislation.

The book outlines the basic elements of a will, familiarising trainees with the common law and statutory background, and enabling them to draft wills and simple trusts in accordance with statute and their clients' informed instructions. It then outlines how to obtain the necessary grant of representation on the death of a client, either with or without a will, and how to administer such an estate, taking into account the various obligations on the personal representative.

Wills, Probate and Estates provides succinct and practical advice, provided by solicitors for solicitors, tackling questions of practice and procedure that are of central importance not only for students on the Professional Practice Course, but also to practitioners who deal with any area of wills, trusts, probate, or the administration of estates.

Padraic Courtney qualified as a solicitor in 1994 and has worked for the Law Society's Law School as a course manager, specialising in Probate and Taxation, for more than twenty years. He holds the Law Society Diploma in Property Tax. A registered Trust and Estate Practitioner and former Committee member of STEP Ireland, he is also a founding Committee member and former Chair of SFE Ireland and secretary to the Law Society of Ireland Probate, Administration and Trusts Committee. He has lectured and tutored on Probate and Tax at PPC I and II levels, and has delivered seminars for CPD, Skillnets, the DSBA, STEP Ireland, and regional Bar Associations. He runs the Wills, Probate and Estates Masterclasses offered by Law Society Professional Training.


Nuala Casey (BCL) was admitted as a solicitor in 1977 and is a consultant solicitor with Shiel Solicitors LLP. She has extensive experience in the area of Probate Practice. She is a consultant, tutor, and internal examiner for the Professional Practice Courses in the Law School, Parts I and II, and lectures in Probate and Applied Land Law for the Law Society's Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme. She is a registered Trust and Estate practitioner and a former member of the Committee of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Ireland and has lectured and tutored on the Law Society/STEP Diploma in Trust and Estate Practice. She is a member of the founding Committee of Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE) Ireland. She is editor and co-author of the Oxford University Press Conveyancing manual.


Annette O'Connell is a former Probate Officer in the Courts Service. She was called to the Bar in 1984 and since 2006 holds a Diploma in Trust and Estate Planning from The Incorporated Law Society of Ireland. She lectured on the PPC and CPD program for the Law Society in the area of Probate Practice and Procedure. Recently retired from the civil service, she now works as a psychotherapist.


Anne Stephenson qualified as a solicitor in 1985. She is the principal of Stephenson Solicitors, a specialist practice providing an advisory service for solicitors and financial institutions in the areas of Wills, Trusts, Probate, Administration of Estates, and Tax Planning. She is a member of STEP, the DSBA Probate and Taxation Committee, and the Probate Liaison Committee of the Law Society, and of the Probate, Administration and Trust Committee of the Law Society. She is also a member of the founding Committee of SFE Ireland. A co-author of the Oxford University Press Conveyancing manual, Anne lectures, examines, and tutors on the Law Society's Professional Courses on the Wills, Trusts, Probate, Tax Planning, and Conveyancing modules and on the Law Society/STEP Diploma in Wills, Trust and Estate Planning. She also lectures on the Law Society's CPD/Skillnets courses, and to the DSBA and numerous other professional bodies, including the Stephenson series of Probate Practice Seminars.

Anne Heenan (BL) is the High Court Probate Officer. She has spent her civil service career to date in the Courts Service, initially spending 11 years in the Probate Office before taking a secondment opportunity with the HSE for 4 years. On her return to the Courts Service in 2010 she served in a number of different offices, including the Carlow Combined Court Office and the Court of Appeal, where she served as Court Registrar. In 2017 she returned to the Probate Office as Assistant Probate Officer and was subsequently appointed to the position of Probate Officer.