There is currently an average 8 to 10 week waiting time for the courts service in Dundalk to issue a grant of probate once it has received an application from a solicitor.
That’s according to figures from the Courts Service, supplied to Deputy Róisín Shortall by Minister for Justice and Equality Charles Flanagan.
Probate is the legal process whereby a will is “proved” in a court and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased. It is required so that an executor or executors can manage the estate of a deceased person.
The waiting time in Dundalk is one of the longest in the country with only Sligo (20 weeks), Dublin (14-15 weeks) Cork (14 weeks), Castlebar (10-12 weeks) and Letterkenny (8-12 weeks) having a longer wait time.
Personal applicants may have better success in getting a grant of probate or letters of administration from the court in Dundalk, with just a four to eight week wait for this service.
Minister Flanagan said: “The data on waiting times relates to applications received where all the documentation is in order. Where documentation is not in order or is incomplete and it is necessary for the District Probate Registry to raise queries on the documentation, there is a longer timeframe from the receipt of application to the final issue of the grant of probate/administration.”
