We would recommend all clients to prepare a Will. Here are some interesting points that are worth knowing. You can leave personal property in your will, but not joint property as it's not exclusively yours. Joint property automatically passes to the surviving co- owner. If you pass away with no Will (intestate) then the Succession Act 1965 applies: Spouse, no children - Spouse gets 100% Spouse and children - Spouse gets 2/3rds and Children 1/3rd No Spouse, children - Children get 100% No Spouse, no children - Parents get 100% (Spouse also includes civil partner). If you die intestate it is more expensive and lengthier process to extract a Grant of Administration. The rules of intestacy govern how your estate is to be distributed so you lose control and tax efficiencies may be lost. A Will is revoked by destroying it, by executing a subsequent Will and by re-marrying or entering a civil partnership. Your Will should cover your assets, the beneficiaries, the executors and your funeral wishes. Your spouse has a "legal right share" and they may choose to keep the dwelling house in partial satisfaction of this legal right share. Spouse, no children - Spouse is entitled to 1/2 of your estate Spouse and children - Spouse is entitled to 1/3 of your estate If it is not your intention to leave anything to your spouse, you should ask them to execute a Deed of Renunciation. Separated spouse - legally you are still married. The separation agreement may include a " blocking order" which extinguishes the share that a spouse would be entitled to as a legal right share or on intestacy. Divorced spouse - if within 6 months from the date of he Grant of Probate the surviving spouse applies to Court for a share of the deceased assets, the Court may grant an order if it considers it appropriate having regard to the rights of any other person having an interest in the matter. A child may challenge an inheritance if they feel adequate provision has not been made for them in the Will. The test that he Court will use is twofold:- 1) There must have been a positive failure in the moral duty of the testator at the date of death. 2) The child must establish that a need exists which the testator could have satisfied by Will or otherwise but failed to do so. In 2012, the rate is 30% applies to all benefits in excess of the following bands. 1) Group A - child of deceased, minor child of a deceased child - €250,000 2) Group B - Parent, grandparent, great grandparent, brother, sister, child of a brother or sister - €33,500 3) Group C - everyone else - €16,750 Life-time gifts are tax free up to €3,000 per annum. Do you have any questions? Please let us know in the comments.