What To Do When Someone Dies in Ireland: An Executor's Checklist
August 26, 2026
This is a general guide, not legal or tax advice — every estate is different, and a solicitor or accountant can give a definitive answer for your specific situation. Figures below (thresholds, timelines) reflect the position at the time of writing and can change, so confirm current figures with Revenue or the Probate Office before relying on them.
Being named executor usually isn't something anyone prepares for. It tends to land in the middle of grief, with a stack of unfamiliar admin and no clear sense of what order things need to happen in. There's very little Ireland-specific guidance written for someone doing this for the first time — most of what's online is either generic (written for a different country's rules) or aimed at solicitors rather than the family actually doing the work. This is our attempt at the missing version: a practical order of operations, in plain English.
In the First Few Days
- Get the death certified. This happens automatically if the death was in hospital. Otherwise, contact the GP who attended.
- Get a Death Notification Form from the doctor who attended — you'll need this to register the death.
- Register the death with your local Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths. You should do this within 3 months, and it must be done within 12 months.
- Order several copies of the death certificate. Nearly every institution you contact — banks, pension providers, insurers — will want to see (and often keep) their own copy.
- Secure the property — make sure it's locked, insured, and that anything perishable is dealt with.
- Locate the will, if there is one, and check who's named as executor.
Who Needs to Be Told
Over the following weeks, most estates involve working through a similar list of notifications. Each one generally needs a death certificate and, once you're acting formally, proof of your authority as executor:
- Banks, building societies and credit unions
- Pension providers and any life insurance policies
- Revenue (01 738 3600 or ros.ie) — a final income tax return may be needed for the year of death
- The mortgage provider, if there is one
- Utility providers (electricity, gas, broadband, phone)
- The HSE, to cancel or transfer a Medical Card (0818 22 44 78)
- The National Driver Licence Service (NDLS), if the person held a driving licence
- An Post, to redirect or cancel post
Do You Need a Solicitor?
Most executors can apply for probate personally, without instructing a solicitor. A solicitor is generally required if any of the following apply: there's a dispute between beneficiaries, the original will has been lost, the applicant is under 18 or lacks capacity, the deceased was domiciled outside Ireland, or the applicant lives outside Ireland and beneficiaries other than a spouse stand to inherit €20,000 or more. The Probate Office can also decide at any stage that a solicitor is needed to administer a particular estate.
Applying for a Grant of Probate
The exact paperwork depends on the route:
- Personal application: file a Statement of Affairs (Form SA.2) with Revenue, then submit a Personal Application Form and supporting documents to the Probate Office. You'll be given an appointment to attend in person, swear an oath, and have your documents examined.
- Solicitor-led application: typically involves Form S1, an Executor's Oath, an Inland Revenue Affidavit (Form CA24), the original will, and death certificate(s).
Which Probate Office you use depends on where the deceased lived: if that was Dublin, Kildare, Meath or Wicklow, the application goes to the Dublin Probate Office; otherwise it can go to the Dublin Probate Office or the District Probate Registry for that county.
Timelines vary a lot by estate complexity. As a rough guide, a personal application typically runs to around 13–15 weeks from submission to Grant, and solicitor-led applications for straightforward estates are often quoted at 4–6 months from the date of death, with more complex estates taking 6–12 months. Incomplete asset schedules, discrepancies between the will and supporting documents, and outstanding Revenue clearance are the most common causes of delay — worth double-checking before you submit.
Inheritance Tax (CAT): The Numbers
Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) is charged on gifts and inheritances above a tax-free threshold, at a rate of 33% on the amount above it. The threshold depends on the relationship between the deceased and the person inheriting, and is a lifetime cumulative figure — it adds up across all gifts and inheritances received from within the same group since 5 December 1991, not just this one estate.
| Group | Relationship | Tax-free threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Group A | Child (including some adopted, foster, and certain step-relationships) from a parent | €400,000 |
| Group B | Sibling, niece, nephew, grandchild, or parent from a child | €40,000 |
| Group C | Everyone else — relations more distant, or unrelated | €20,000 |
Once someone's total gifts and inheritances within a group approach a meaningful share of their threshold, a CAT return (Form IT38) is generally required via ROS, even where no tax ends up being owed. This is exactly the kind of detail worth confirming with an accountant for your specific situation — thresholds and rules do change from budget to budget.
Clearing the House — When and How
Clearing the family home is usually one of the last practical steps, not the first — and there's no need to rush it. We've written separately about what's generally fine to do before probate is granted and what's worth being careful about. In short: securing the property and dealing with anything urgent is fine straight away; a full clearance is usually better left until probate is sorted, or at least until beneficiaries have had a chance to go through anything of value.
When you do get to that stage, our Bereavement Clearance service is built specifically around this situation — flexible timing, no rush, and items set aside for family review wherever that matters. We regularly coordinate directly with executors and solicitors on timing and access.
Free Executor's Checklist & Asset Inventory
To make the early admin easier to track, we've put together two free downloads based on everything above:
- Executor's Checklist (CSV) — the full sequence above as a checkable list, from registering the death through to distributing the estate.
- Estate Asset & Inventory Template (CSV) — a simple spreadsheet for logging accounts, property and other assets alongside the CAT group reference table, ready to open in Excel or Google Sheets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to hire a solicitor to deal with probate?
No — most executors can apply personally. A solicitor becomes necessary in specific situations: disputes between beneficiaries, a lost will, an applicant who is under 18 or lacks capacity, a deceased person domiciled outside Ireland, or a non-resident applicant where beneficiaries other than a spouse inherit €20,000 or more.
How long does probate take in Ireland?
It varies by estate. Personal applications typically take around 13–15 weeks from submission to Grant. Solicitor-led applications for straightforward estates are often quoted at 4–6 months from the date of death, with more complex estates taking 6–12 months.
Can I clear the house before probate is granted?
Generally yes for the basics — securing the property, removing perishables, general tidying — but anything that could affect the estate's value is worth holding off on until there's agreement between beneficiaries, or a nod from the solicitor. See our full guide on this.
What if the estate is small, or there's no will?
Smaller or simpler estates can still go through the personal application route in many cases. Where there's no will, an administrator is appointed instead of an executor, following intestacy rules — this is worth a specific conversation with the Probate Office or a solicitor, since the right person to apply isn't always obvious.
Get in Touch, in Your Own Time
Whenever you're ready to talk about clearing the property — before or after probate — get in touch for a free, no-obligation quote, handled with the care this deserves.