When a farming marriage breaks down, the farm is usually the family’s main asset, its income and one spouse’s inheritance all at once. Irish family law requires proper provision for both spouses; farming reality requires that the unit which generates the income is not destroyed in the process. Reconciling the two is the core of this work, and Mary Molloy Solicitors brings both family law experience and agricultural property expertise to it.
How Farms Are Dealt With in Practice
Every case turns on its own facts, but the recurring building blocks are: valuation of the lands, dwelling, stock, machinery and entitlements; identifying what can raise money without dismantling the enterprise (a site, an outfarm, borrowing capacity); provision through lump sums, maintenance and pension adjustment orders rather than carving up the land itself; and, where children will farm eventually, structures that respect that succession. Where the case can be settled by negotiation or mediation, outcomes are usually better for both sides — Richard O’Shea holds a Diploma in Mediation from the Law Society of Ireland.
Protecting the Farm Before Problems Arise
Families transferring land to a marrying or cohabiting successor increasingly build protection into the succession plan itself: considered timing of transfers, prenuptial or cohabitation agreements, and clear documentation of what was inherited as against what was built during the relationship. None of these makes land untouchable; all of them improve the position if the worst happens. Read more: is the farm at risk in Irish divorce proceedings?
Farming Through a Separation?
Get advice that understands both family law and the farm itself. Confidential consultations at either office.
Call 01 5827148