Do I Need a Will in Ireland?

Two-thirds of adults in Ireland do not have a will. If you are one of them, the state decides who gets your home, your savings, and your possessions when you die. Not your family. Not your partner. The Succession Act 1965, a law written before most of us were born, dictates everything.

If you have a spouse or civil partner, children, property, savings, or any specific wishes about what happens to your assets, you need a will. It is that simple. The cost and effort of making one are trivial compared to the cost of not having one.

What Happens If You Die Without a Will

When a person dies without a valid will in Ireland, they are said to have died "intestate". The Succession Act 1965 sets rigid rules for distributing the estate. There is no flexibility, no consideration of personal circumstances, and no room for family agreements. The rules are as follows.

If you have a spouse or civil partner but no children, your spouse gets everything. If you have a spouse and children, your spouse gets two-thirds and the remaining third is divided equally between your children. If you have children but no spouse, everything is divided equally between the children. If you have neither spouse nor children, the estate passes to your parents, then siblings, then nieces and nephews, and so on through increasingly distant relatives.

Notice who is missing from this list: unmarried partners, stepchildren, close friends, and carers. No matter how long you have lived together, no matter how close the relationship, an unmarried partner has no automatic right to inherit anything. A cohabiting partner of twenty years gets nothing unless they make a separate court application under the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010, which is expensive, uncertain, and stressful.

Your Spouse Cannot Be Disinherited

Under Section 111 of the Succession Act 1965, your surviving spouse or civil partner has a "legal right share" that cannot be overridden by your will. If you have children, your spouse is entitled to at least one-third of your net estate. If you have no children, they are entitled to at least one-half. This applies regardless of what your will says. You can leave the rest of your estate to whoever you want, but your spouse's legal right share is protected by law.

This is an important consideration when drafting your will. If your will leaves less than the legal right share to your spouse, they can elect to take the legal right share instead of what the will provides. Your will should be drafted with this in mind.

Children Can Challenge Your Will

Children do not have an automatic right to inherit under Irish law. However, Section 117 of the Succession Act 1965 gives any child the right to apply to the court within six months of probate if they believe you failed in your "moral duty" to make proper provision for them. The court considers factors including the child's financial needs, your means and obligations, and your relationship with the child.

This does not mean you must leave everything equally to your children. You can leave different amounts to different children, or leave nothing to a child who is financially independent, as long as a court would consider you discharged your moral duty. But if you intend to leave a child significantly less than their siblings, you should document your reasoning and consider taking legal advice.

Inheritance Tax Thresholds in 2026

Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) is charged at 33% on inheritances above certain tax-free thresholds. The thresholds depend on the relationship between you and the beneficiary. Group A (parent to child, including adopted and stepchildren) has a lifetime threshold of EUR 400,000. Group B (siblings, nieces, nephews, grandchildren) has a threshold of EUR 40,000. Group C (everyone else, including cousins, friends, and unmarried partners) has a threshold of just EUR 20,000.

Transfers between spouses and civil partners are fully exempt from CAT. The thresholds are cumulative over your lifetime since 5 December 1991, meaning all gifts and inheritances from people in the same group are added together.

Careful will drafting can make a meaningful difference to the tax bill your beneficiaries face. For example, spreading assets across multiple beneficiaries, making use of the Dwelling House Exemption, or structuring gifts during your lifetime can all help reduce the CAT burden.

How to Make a Valid Will in Ireland

For a will to be legally valid under Section 78 of the Succession Act 1965, it must meet three requirements. First, it must be in writing. Second, you must sign it at the end. Third, your signature must be made or acknowledged in the presence of two witnesses, both of whom must also sign the will. The witnesses must not be beneficiaries named in the will, or married to beneficiaries. If a witness is also a beneficiary, their gift under the will is void under Section 82.

There is no requirement for the will to be typed, notarised, or registered. A handwritten will is perfectly valid if it meets the three requirements above. However, a typed will with clear structure is far less likely to be misinterpreted or challenged.

Marriage Revokes Your Will

Under Section 85 of the Succession Act 1965, getting married automatically revokes any existing will, unless the will was expressly made in contemplation of that specific marriage. This catches many people out. If you made a will before getting married, it is no longer valid. You need to make a new one. Civil partnership has the same effect.

Divorce does not automatically revoke your will, but it may affect certain provisions. If you have been through a divorce or judicial separation, you should review your will to ensure it still reflects your wishes.

When to Use a Solicitor Instead

Our self-service tool is designed for straightforward estates: you want to leave your assets to your spouse, children, or other named beneficiaries with clear instructions. For most people, this is entirely adequate. However, you should use a solicitor if your estate involves business assets or shares in a private company, property in another country, a blended family with children from previous relationships, trusts or complex tax planning structures, or if your estate significantly exceeds the CAT thresholds and you need tax advice. You can find a solicitor on SolicitorCompare.ie.

The Bottom Line

Making a will is one of the most important things you can do for your family. Without one, the law decides everything, your partner may get nothing, your children may face unnecessary tax, and the probate process becomes longer and more expensive. A will takes five minutes to generate, costs EUR 79, and gives you control over what happens to everything you have worked for.

This is a self-service document generation tool. It does not constitute legal advice. For complex or high-value situations, we recommend consulting a solicitor.