Ireland’s Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Mr. Alan Shatter, unveiled in early 2012 two new initiatives designed to attract non-EEA investors and entrepreneurs to Ireland in order to stimulate job growth and development. The initiatives, the Immigrant Investor Programme and the Start-up Entrepreneur Programme, allow approved investors and their immediate families to receive residency in Ireland in exchange for a pre-determined investment. These programmes were designed to boost the Irish economy by providing an influx of long-term investment.

The Immigrant Investor Programme

The Immigrant Investor Programme allows investors to participate in the Irish economy in four distinct ways:

1. A one-time endowment of a minimum of €500,000 to a public project benefiting the arts, sports, health, culture or education
2. A minimum €1,000,000 aggregate investment into new or existing Irish businesses for a minimum of three years. Funding by the investor through the intermediary of a venture capital fund will be considered provided that it can be demonstrated that the net effect is at least equivalent to that of a direct investment.
3. A minimum €2,000,000 investment in a special low interest 5 year immigrant investor bond. There will be one interest payment of 5.1% at the end of the 5 year investment period and this is equal to an annual equivalent interest rate of 1% (AER).
4. A minimum €1,000,000 mixed investment consisting of €500,000 in property and €500,000 in immigrant investor bonds.

The programme is designed to attract established entrepreneurs to engage in a long-term relationship with Ireland. In return for their investment, participants will be granted residency for five years, reviewable after two years, which can subsequently be renewed in five-year tranches.

The Start-up Entrepreneur Programme

The Start-up Entrepreneur Programme is designed to stimulate the growth of innovative businesses in Ireland. The programme allows non-EEA nationals with an innovative business idea and funding of €75,000 to acquire residency in Ireland to develop their business. Residency will be in line with the Immigrant Investment Programme, but with the expectation that the participant will be active in the administration of the project. The programme will create employment and new businesses will have greater flexibility and lower start-up costs. The business idea must be a High Potential Start-Up.

To qualify for the Programme, proposal must be:

• Capable of introducing a new or innovative product or service to international markets
• Capable of creating 10 jobs in Ireland and realising €1 million in sales within three to four years of starting up
• Led by an experienced management team
• Headquartered and controlled in Ireland
• Less than six years old

Evaluation Committee

In addition to ensuring the minimum requirements listed by each programme are met, an Evaluation Committee will be established to determine that applicants are of good character, meet the financial requirements, and are capable of supporting themselves while in Ireland. The Committee will have discretionary authority in deciding whether a proposal will be beneficial for Ireland and job creation. The Committee consist of representatives from the IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, the Department of Finance, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Department of Health.

Residency and Citizenship

The two programmes, while intending to stimulate long-term relationships between Ireland and foreign investors, do not provide any preferential access to Irish citizenship. The current requirement of five years of “reckonable residency” remains in effect, even for accepted applicants. However, once accepted into a Programme, participants may apply for citizenship once they have met the necessary residential requirements. The two programmes, therefore, may ease the burden of acquiring Irish citizenship.

If you would like legal advice in relation to these matters, please call us on 01-6445777 or contact us here.

While it may seem pessimistic, it is the reality that not all relationships succeed and it is wise to have an agreement in place that will protect each party if the relationship ends. This will avoid the stress and unpleasantness that may ensue where one party wishes to sell the property while the other party does not and could avoid costly litigation where the parties cannot come to agreement.

Co-ownership agreements

Typically, a co-ownership agreement will set out:

a. That both parties have agreed to buy the property.
b. The total cost of the overall transaction inclusive of both the purchase price paid as well as the other costs associated with the transaction.
c. The amount of money that was borrowed (typically by way of a mortgage)
d. What proportion of the difference between the total cost of the purchase and the mortgage that each party has contributed.
e. The steps that are to be taken regarding the sale of the property should the relationship end, where one party wishes to sell the property while the other party does not.
f. The share each party will receive from the proceeds of the sale of the property.

Co-ownership agreements are not restricted to co-habiting couples and should be put in place by any persons who are purchasing a property together (for example friends or siblings) to define the legal basis of what is essentially a financial relationship between them.

Cohabiting couples should be aware that living together is no longer a legal-free zone and after a certain period of time the fact of their living together may give rise to a legal relationship under the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitant’s Act, 2010. For this reason, in addition to looking at a co-ownership agreement they may also want to also take advice on the potential impact of this legislation and consider entering into a co-habitant agreement to look at not only their property rights but also some of the wider issues that may come to affect them.

Co-habitant agreements

As it is so common in Ireland for unmarried couples to live together, people are often surprised to discover that unlike married couples, couples who have co-habited on a long term basis without a marriage certificate have no automatic rights should the relationship break up or one partner die.
Such persons have no automatic property rights, right to occupy the home in which they have lived, right to financial support or right to inheritance should their partner die without having made a will.

The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitant’s Act, 2010 now gives protection at the end of a long-term cohabiting relationship to a person who is economically dependent on the other. This economic dependency must have arisen because of the relationship.

Such a cohabitant does not have automatic rights but does have the right under the Act to seek redress from the court and obtain reliefs in respect of the other cohabitant’s property, maintenance orders, pension adjustment orders or a provision from the estate of a deceased cohabitant.

The Act encourages cohabitants to take responsibility for putting in place an agreement that will regulate their living arrangements and provide for financial matters during the relationship and should the relationship end through death or otherwise. Importantly, under Section 202 of the Act, both parties may choose to enter into an agreement that simply opts out of the provisions of the Act so that it will not apply to them. However, this will only be possible if both parties have received independent legal advice, and a written agreement is put in place that has been signed by both parties and adheres to basic contract law requirements.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you are purchasing a home together having a co-ownership agreement in place may avoid potentially costly and unnecessary future litigation. It is important to also be aware that a couple who move in together could eventually come within the scope of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act, 2010 if they do not address these issues through a co-ownership agreement at the outset.

If you would like legal advice in relation to these matters, please call us on 01-6445777 or contact us here.

Most Clients tell us that they are familiar with the steps that they need to take at the outset including:

a. Dealing with a broker or lending institution to obtain a loan offer.
b. Searching for a property and negotiating the purchase price with the estate agent.
c. Paying a booking deposit to the estate agent.
d. Notifying the estate agent and the mortgage bank of the identity of their solicitor so that their solicitor will receive Contracts, Title information and a loan offer.

However, at that point Clients generally find themselves in unfamiliar territory as the legal process takes over and matters are dealt with by their solicitor.

The average transaction from receipt of contracts can be approximately 6 weeks and it is very important to engage the services of a solicitor as soon as possible when you intend to purchase. It is also important to have an understanding of the steps that will be taken during that timeframe and confidence that your solicitor will communicate regularly with you, advise you appropriately and complete the transaction in as prompt and efficient a manner as possible.

The total cost of purchasing of a home involves not just the cost of the property but also government taxes, property registration fees, legal fees and other expenses such as survey fees and insurance. At the outset, we can provide you with an estimate and understanding of the total legal fees, taxes and charges involved in purchasing your home.

The legal process of buying a home can effectively be broken down into three stages, namely:

a. Pre-Contract,
b. Contract to Completion and
c. Post Completion.

A brief overview of each of these stages and the role of both the purchaser and the solicitor at each of these stages is as follows:

At the Pre-Contract stage, the purchaser will have agreed terms with the estate agent and will have paid a booking deposit. If the purchase of the home is to be facilitated by a mortgage, then loan approval must be obtained in advance of any contracts being signed. The purchaser will have to deal with any conditions of the mortgage such as obtaining life insurance.

The solicitor will advise you to arrange for a structural survey to be carried out. If you are buying your home with a co-purchaser or with your spouse, the solicitor will advise you of the various forms of legal ownership of property (e.g. joint tenancy/ tenancy in common), the ownership rights that these other parties will have and will discuss with you whether you may wish to put in place a co-ownership agreement or will when dealing with the purchase of the property.

Once these preliminaries have been carried out, the solicitor will receive copies of the contract for sale together with initial title deeds for the property from the vendor’s solicitor. Once received, the solicitor will then examine the contract’s terms and property’s title documents.

The solicitor’s role is to ensure that the title to the property you are purchasing is a “good marketable title” so that there should be no issues that might affect the future sale of the property when you decide to move on. At the outset, the solicitor will be able to advise you whether there might be any issues with the title of the property that you intend to purchase.

Having consulted with you, it may be decided that more information is required so pre-contract enquiries may be sent to the vendor’s solicitor. There may also be terms in the contract that neither you nor your solicitor are happy with. If this is the case, then your solicitor will make the necessary changes to the contract, having consulted with you and will highlight these to the vendor’s solicitor. In the event that the replies received regarding the pre-contract enquiries are satisfactory and the vendor is willing to accept the changes to the contract, then the vendor’s solicitor will incorporate these changes into the final draft of the contract and two copies of the final draft will be sent to your solicitor for your signature.

At this point the purchaser should have obtained loan approval and the solicitor will provide an undertaking (a binding professional promise) to the lending institution that after the purchase is completed they will certify that the property has good marketable title and ensure that the purchaser and the lending institution’s interests in the property are registered with the Property Registration Authority. The solicitor will also arrange for the purchaser to sign the Loan Offer.

The solicitor will order pre-contract searches and if these are satisfactory, the purchaser will now be in a position to execute (sign) the two copies of the contract. The two executed contracts together with a cheque for the deposit (typically 10% of the purchase price minus the booking deposit paid to the estate agent) will be sent to the vendor’s solicitor. The contract is not binding until the vendor has signed one copy and it has been returned to your solicitor.

The Contract to Completion stage begins when the vendor has signed both of the contracts and returned one of the signed contracts to your solicitor.

The solicitor will advise you at that stage to have the property insured as you now have a formal interest (the beneficial interest) in the property.

The solicitor will now receive from the vendor’s solicitor the rest of the title documents relating to the property and will then examine the full title of the property, and will raise any objections (if any) on the title and a standard set of detailed queries known as requisitions on title.
If the solicitor receives replies to the requisitions on title that are satisfactory, then he/she will draft the Purchase Deed and it will be sent to the vendor’s solicitor not less than four days before the date the sale is due to complete (this is known as the closing/ completion date).

Prior to the closing of the transaction, the solicitor will seek confirmation from you that you have fully complied with all the conditions that attach to your loan approval and will then obtain the loan funds from the mortgage bank and order any closing searches.

On the day of the closing, your solicitor will visit the vendor’s solicitor’s offices and hand over the balance of the purchase monies. The vendor’s solicitor will give him the deed that has been signed by the vendor, any completion documents and the keys to the property or an authority from the vendor directing the estate agent to release the keys to the purchaser.

After closing, during the Post Completion stage, your solicitor will give you the keys to the property and will also arrange for you to execute the purchase deed and the mortgage.

The solicitor will then arrange payment of any stamp duty that may be payable on the deed and will furnish you with a copy of the stamp duty certificate confirming payment has been made.

The solicitor must then arrange to have the purchase deed and the mortgage deed registered with the Property Registration Authority. You should be furnished with a dealing number confirming that these documents have been lodged for registration. The registration process itself is not within the control of your solicitor and can take a matter of weeks, months or years. Ultimately, once registration has completed you should be sent a copy of either (a) the Land Registry folio noting the fact that you are the registered owner or (b) the purchase deed stamped as registered with the Registry of Deeds. The solicitor will then have to send a certificate of title and all original title documents to your lending institution where they will be kept until such time as the mortgage is repaid in full or you decide you wish to sell the property.

Please contact us on 01-6445777 or through our online enquiry form for a conveyancing quote.

Whatever your age or your personal circumstances, it is extremely important that you make a will. If you die without having made a will, you are said to have died “intestate”. If you die intestate, this means that your estate will be divided according to specific rules set out in the Succession Act 1965. It should also be noted that for grieving family members who need to deal with the process of administering your estate, the process is more costly and cumbersome in the absence of a will.

The intestacy rules distribute your property and assets according to defined family lines. While they primarily ensure that priority is given to spouses and close family members, people are often surprised to discover that under the rules their spouse will not automatically inherit the entire estate. For example, if you have children they would automatically be entitled to one third of your estate with your spouse being entitled to two thirds.

Other examples of how the intestacy rules might apply include the following:

• Married (or registered civil partner) with no children – your Spouse (or civil partner) will inherit your whole estate.
• Married with children – your Spouse will inherit two thirds of your estate and your children one third of your estate.
• Single with no children – your Parents inherit your whole estate, in equal shares.
• Single with no parents and no children – then your Brothers and Sisters will inherit your estate in equal shares.
• Single with no parents, children, brothers or sisters surviving – then your estate will go to any Nieces and Nephews and otherwise to next of kin in the following order:
  • grandparents,
  • if none surviving, then to aunts and uncles,
  • if none surviving, then to cousins.

There are various personal circumstances arising in everyday life that make having a will in place to express your wishes essential. These include:

A. If you have children:

In the tragic case that both you and your spouse or partner were to die at the same time, under a will you can appoint a person of your choosing to be Guardian or Trustee to care for your children. As well as taking care of your children on a day to day basis, this person will manage your estate on their behalf until they reach adulthood. This should provide comfort to you knowing that should the unthinkable happen, you have made arrangements for people whom you trust to take care of your children.

Similarly, if you have a child who requires greater financial assistance than your other children (e.g. due to a disability), a will allows you the flexibility to make whatever provision you think appropriate in your specific circumstances.

B. If you are unmarried, but in a long-term relationship:

The state will not automatically recognise your partner’s right to inherit a share in your estate and your partner may be in the position of having to apply to the Courts if you have failed to make your wishes clear. In order to properly provide for your partner in the event of your death (or indeed make it clear that for whatever reason you do not wish to do so), it is necessary to draft a will.

C. If your marital status has changed:

Many people are not aware that when they get married, any will made prior to that marriage becomes null and void. Furthermore, should you become separated or divorced this will not automatically invalidate any will made prior to that separation or divorce and unless otherwise expressed in a court order or separation agreement, it is possible that legal rights of your spouse to a share in your estate may not be extinguished so individual circumstances need to be looked at closely and new wills drawn up.

D. If you have accumulated wealth, assets or own property:

When you make a will you effectively decide how you would like your property to be shared out. This will allow you to engage in effective tax planning to ensure that the amount of Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) payble by beneficiaries under your will can be minimized if you are at a point in life where you have accumulated wealth or have specific assets such as a farm, business or property to consider.

Many people own properties over which there is an outstanding mortgage and for that reason they don’t see the property as an asset but it must be remembered that in most cases, there is a mortgage protection policy in place that would pay off the mortgage in the event of death meaning that a will should be in place to express how you would like to leave the property in the event of death.

Other advantages

There are many other advantages to creating a will. These include being able to set out specific funeral arrangements and being able to pass on heirlooms and personal items to loved ones. Clearly expressing your wishes under a will may minimize any arguments between family members and give them peace of mind in knowing that your wishes are being followed.

Another advantage is that under a will you can appoint executors of your choosing to administer your estate and the wishes expressed under your will. Being able to choose these people should provide you with peace of mind that someone competent and trustworthy is in charge of dealing with this important task.

Conclusion

Personal circumstances change regularly throughout your life and for this reason it is extremely important to have a will in place. We always recommend that you consider your will to be a living document that you review on a regular basis and not something set in stone to be put away in a drawer and dusted off after 50 years when it may no longer be fit for its intended purpose.

Should need any further information about making a will, please call us on 01-6445777 or contact us here.

THE LAW IS NOT something which, typically, offers us great value for money. The men in grey suits who control our purse strings quickly realised this after they flew in from Frankfurt and New York once we surrendered our economic sovereignty two years ago.

The legal profession – along with doctors and dentists – was almost immediately identified by the Troika as one which needed to bring its prices down in line with Irish consumers’ post-bailout financial reality.

Many solicitors and barristers have been slow to recognise the new reality and drop their prices, but others realise that times have definitely changed and the days when newly minted solicitors could charge ridiculous fees for comparatively simple services have gone the way of the boom.

While the legal eagles get a lot of grief for their high prices, they do sometimes give something back.

Next week, for instance, solicitors will be offering great value for money, for one service at least.

Next Monday marks the start of Best Will in the World Week and more than 200 solicitors across the State will offer people help in drawing up their wills for just €50 a throw.

This amounts to a saving of anywhere between €100 and €300 depending on the practice you visit and the complexity of your life.

Trying to get a price for a will is notoriously difficult as every practice will have a different pricing structure and the prices will rise or fall depending on what you need your will to do.

By any measure then, a €50 will is good value for money. And make no mistake, there are a whole lot of people out there who should take advantage of the offer.

According to a survey published in conjunction with the Best Will in the World Week only a third of Irish people have made a will and, while the percentage of people with a will climbs as they get older, just over half the adult population aged between 45 and 64 have one.

Best Will in the World Week is trying to address the issue by offering people wills on the cheap.

It is organised by MyLegacy.ie, a coalition of over 70 Irish charities, and will see solicitors across the country offering consultations.

This umbrella body is made up of 60 Irish charities from the areas of health, children’s issues, overseas development, social issues, human rights, and animal protection, amongst others.

It was established in 2003 to raise public awareness of making a will and leaving charitable bequests and provides unbiased, useful information to individuals, charities and solicitors about leaving legacies to charities.

The people at MyLegacy.ie are not behind this initiative for nothing. They are involved because they want to encourage people making a will to leave a gift to their favourite charity.

“Not having a will can have serious consequences for your family after you are gone,” says Susan O’Dwyer, the chairwoman of MyLegacy.ie and chief executive of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “In the absence of a will, there can be bitter legal disputes and the possibility of the State having to make decisions regarding the distribution of your property and assets, and we all want to avoid that.”

She accepts that “times are tough” and leaving money to charity may not be the first thing on anyone’s mind but expresses hope that “Irish people are generous and continue to give what they can to Irish charities”.

As it happens, we’re not really that generous when it comes to giving money to good causes once we’re gone.

According to MyLegacy.ie research, just over 30 per cent of those polled said they would like to make a donation to charity in their will.

The company puts a positive spin on this number and says it represents a 100 per cent increase on the figure in May 2006. That may well be true but it does mean the vast majority of the population would rather not leave any money to charity.

And it appears we get meaner as we get older.

The desire to leave a gift to charity is highest among 18-24-year-olds – who are, in fairness, the least likely to have to put their money where their mouths are.

When it comes to the 45-64 cohort, only 26 per cent say they consider leaving a gift to a charity.

Only one in three Irish adults has made a will, while only 12 per cent of Irish people have included a charity as a beneficiary in their will, despite the fact that 62 per cent say they would consider leaving a gift to charity.

As times get tougher, the squeeze is put on charitable donations which is why they need legacy donations now more than ever.

Irish charities only raise approximately 6 per cent of their income from legacies, which compares to up to 40 per cent in the UK.

A list of the participating solicitors can be found on MyLegacy.ie

In the absence of a will, there can be bitter legal disputes and the possibility of the State having to make decisions regarding the distribution of your property

DO-IT-YOURSELF WILLS: IF YOU’VE A SIMPLE LIFE

IT IS POSSIBLE for you to draw up your own will as long as you don’t have a particularly complicated life.

Templates for wills can be found online or they can be bought in large bookshops.

Staff at the Courts Service are enormously helpful and will provide all the necessary documentation and a degree of advice – although they do have to be careful as they are not technically allowed to give legal advice.

Bear in mind that if there is any complexity, such as a divorce or children from a different relationship, a person should not look after their own will.

Kerry Clear is a solicitor with a practice on Dublin’s St Stephen’s Green and, unsurprisingly, perhaps, she is down on the DIY option.

“There is a perception that drawing up your own will does not require a great deal of skill and that is not the case,” she says.

“There is also this idea that one size fits all and that is not the case either. A will totally depends on your life circumstances and people need to remember that it is not a reflection of what are your assets but what your responsibilities are.”

She has trawled the web looking for online will options and most of what she has found deal with the legal framework in the UK rather than in Ireland.

“Sometimes you get people who do their own wills but don’t have them witnessed properly.

“You need two witnesses who have to be with you at the time you all sign the will and they can not be beneficiaries.”

She also cautions that as circumstances change, the nature of a will changes.

“If you get married, any will you made before that point is completely invalid. Once you are married you can’t decide to leave everything to someone else other than your spouse unless you agree otherwise.”

The bottom line – and an imminently sensible one – is that a will (be it a professionally drawn up one by a solicitor ‘or a DIY deal) makes things easier for people you leave behind.

WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY TO MAKE THINGS WORK: CHARITIES BENEFIT FROM UNUSUAL BEQUESTS DOWN THE AGES

PRETTY POLLY

In 1835, a sailor left a parrot to St Vincent’s Hospital to be auctioned for the hospital. We have no idea how much Polly fetched.

HAVE A HEART

Croí was left a legacy with the request that the charity buy cardiac equipment for the Aran Islands. It was duly bought and presented to island GP Dr Marion Broderick.

SWIFT’S GIFT

St Patrick’s Hospital (Psychiatric) was founded as a result of a legacy left in Jonathan Swift’s will.

SHOE-STOPPER

The Irish Heart Foundation was left an Italian shoe show.

DRAMATIC DONATION

The Abbey (previously the National Theatre Society) received a donation of £10,300 between 1904 and 1910 – the equivalent to €4 million today, from Annie Horniman (of the Horniman tea family). She also donated a Horniman’s teapot.

CRAFTY WITH COPYRIGHT

Playwright Lennox Robinson left all his copyright in his work to his wife when he died and after to the director of the National Theatre Society.

CORK CASTLE

An Taisce received a gift of Kanturk Castle in Cork.

CHARITY COUNTS

Oxfam UK has received gold teeth, a dentist’s chair, greyhounds and shares in the original Woolwich Arsenal Football Club.