Farm Wills & Probate

Wills designed around the farm — and the administration of farming estates when the time comes.

A standard two-page will is rarely adequate for a farming family. The farm is usually the dominant asset, it cannot sensibly be divided, and the people it must provide for — a spouse, a farming successor and non-farming children — have competing claims that the Succession Act 1965 enforces whether the will acknowledges them or not. Farm wills are succession planning documents, and we draft them as such.

What a Proper Farm Will Deals With

  • The successor: a clear devise of the lands, dwelling, stock, machinery and entitlements to the intended farmer — with substitution provisions if circumstances change.
  • The spouse’s legal right share: structuring the will so provision for the surviving spouse coexists with the farm passing intact.
  • Non-farming children: realistic provision from non-farm assets, sites, charges over land or policies — the single best defence to a later Section 117 claim.
  • Conditions and rights: rights of residence for a surviving parent, maintenance obligations and how they are secured on the folio.
  • Executors who can run a farm: administration powers to keep stock fed, land let and entitlements claimed while probate is pending.

Probate and Administration of Farming Estates

We take farming estates from death to distribution: extracting the Grant of Probate or Administration, dealing with the Revenue affidavit, first registration and mapping issues, transferring entitlements within scheme deadlines, and vesting the lands in the beneficiaries. Where the deceased died intestate, we advise the family on who is entitled under the Succession Act and how the holding can be kept together by agreement — often through deeds of family arrangement.

Where a dispute has already arisen — a challenge to the will, a Section 117 application or a disagreement between siblings over the land — see agricultural land disputes. Richard’s mediation qualification means many of these disputes can be resolved without court.

Make a Will Built Around the Farm

Richard O'Shea TEP drafts wills for farming families that keep the holding intact and provide fairly for everyone.

Call 01 5827148

Related Reading

Farm Wills & Probate - FAQs

The Succession Act 1965 intestacy rules apply: a surviving spouse takes two-thirds and children share one-third equally (or the spouse takes everything if there are no children). For a farm this can mean fragmented ownership between siblings who never intended to farm together, and no one with clear authority to run the holding. A will is the only way to direct the farm to the intended successor.