Termination of Wardship
- Until the commencement of the Assistant Decision Making Capacity Act 2015, Part 6 Ward of Court applications continue to be made in the same way as they currently are. Once part 6 of the Act is enacted all future ward ship applications will be made to the Circuit Court.
- If you have been appointed to act as Committee for a Ward it is important to note that if you are aware of the existence of a Will for the Ward that Will should be lodged with the Registrar of the Wards of Court office for safe keeping. On the death of the ward the registrar of the Wards of Court office should be notified and the Registrar may open and read the Will so they know who has been appointed as Executor and any funeral requests made by the deceased. The original Will, will not be given to the Executors but rather will be passed to the Probate Office for safe keeping where the Executor can request a certified copy of the Will in order for them to proceed with obtaining a Grant of Probate.
- If the Ward did not make a Will and the funds held by the Wards of Court office are under €25,000 an application can be made to administer the Estate without having to take out Probate. Where the amount is over €25,000 a Grant of Administration/Probate will be required.
- The Committee need to apply to the Court to have the Wards Estate dismissed from Wardship. A statement of facts is lodged in the Wards of Court office which details the assets and liabilities of the Ward as of the date of death.
- It is important that the Committee contact any parties that they would have engaged with during the wardship to notify them of the death and that the wardship has ended. This would include utility companies and financial institutions as well as other government bodies.
- The Ward of Court office will draft a Court Order based on the statement of facts in order to end the wardship.
- Once the Ward has died and the committee have obtained a Dismissal Order the Wards of Court Office will pay any monies held to the legal personal representative of the deceased on production of a Grant of Probate/Administration having deducted any outstanding fees or monies due to the Court.
If you require any further assistance in relation to this please do not hesitate to contact us on 01-2960666 or email info@dillon.ie
