A professionally drafted will in Ireland is prepared by a solicitor. It is what happens when a regulated Irish practice removes the wood-panelled office, the appointment-three-weeks-out wait, and the open-ended hourly meter. What stays is the substance: a will drafted by an Irish-qualified solicitor against the Succession Act 1965, witnessed properly, and tailored to your specific assets and beneficiaries. Most clients finish the entire process in under 30 minutes from anywhere in Ireland. This page explains what a will covers, when you need one, and what to look out for.
What is a will?
A will is exactly what it sounds like: the entire cost of producing your will is quoted in advance, in writing, before any work begins. No hourly meter, no surprise charges for “additional reviews”, no escalation if your will is more complex than first appeared. Solicitors typically price in tiers: a single straightforward will, mirror wills for a married couple, and individually-quoted prices for wills involving trusts, foreign assets, blended-family beneficiaries, or business succession. The quote you see at the start is the price you pay.
Why wills exist
Two reasons. First: most Irish wills are not actually complex. The Succession Act 1965 has been on the statute book for sixty years and the document patterns are well-established. A solicitor with experience can draft a clean will for a typical Irish adult in under thirty minutes of working time — and pricing it as if every will is a bespoke commercial-litigation engagement is overcharging. Second: the alternative — putting it off because the cost is uncertain — is dramatically worse. The most common reason wills are not signed in Ireland is procrastination, and the most common cause of that procrastination is uncertainty about cost. removes the cost uncertainty. The will gets drafted. The estate gets distributed the way the testator intended.
Who needs a will in Ireland?
Anyone over 18 with property — and “property” here means more than real estate. It includes bank accounts, life insurance policies (where the beneficiary nomination is missing or incomplete), pensions (similarly), digital assets, business interests, vehicles, jewellery, and personal belongings of sentimental rather than monetary value. The Succession Act 1965 distributes the property of the intestate by formula; that formula does not know your family or your wishes. If you would prefer a particular item go to a particular person, you need a will. The same applies to anyone with minor children who wants to nominate a guardian rather than have the High Court appoint one.
What goes in a will
The standard sections of a well-drafted Irish will are: identification of the testator (full name, address, date of birth) and revocation of prior wills; appointment of executors (typically two, with a substitute) and any guardians for minor children; specific bequests of named items or sums to named beneficiaries; residue clause distributing whatever is left after specific bequests are paid; powers of executors; and a survivorship clause specifying what happens if a beneficiary predeceases the testator. The detail in each section depends on circumstances, but the section structure is fixed.
Witnessing a will in Ireland
Two witnesses, present at the same time, both watching the testator sign, both signing themselves in the testator’s presence. Neither witness can be a beneficiary or the spouse of a beneficiary — under Section 82 of the Succession Act 1965, gifts to a witness or witness’s spouse are voided. Witnesses do not need to read the will and do not need to be solicitors. Adults of sound mind, present in person, are sufficient.
The single biggest cause of will challenges in the Irish High Court is improper execution. A good drafting service includes detailed witnessing instructions written for a layperson, plus a follow-up review of the executed will to confirm it has been signed correctly before it goes into safekeeping.
Common will-drafting traps
Three patterns. First: marriage automatically revokes a will under Section 85 of the Succession Act 1965 unless the will was made in contemplation of that specific marriage. People who write wills early and then marry later often think the will is still in force; it is not. Second: changes to family relationships — divorce, separation, the death of a named beneficiary — that are not reflected in the will. The will distributes the estate based on its terms at the testator’s death, not on the testator’s relationships at that time. Third: disorganised asset registers. A will that names “my house” when the testator owns three houses is a recipe for litigation. Specific assets need specific identifiers.
Wills, Powers of Attorney, and the bigger succession picture
A will takes effect on death. A Power of Attorney takes effect during life, in the event of incapacity. They are different documents covering different events, and an Irish adult typically needs both. Many people do both at once because the conversations overlap. A will and an Enduring Power of Attorney together give you a complete succession setup, each at a set price shown before you book.
For Irish homeowners, the will conversation also overlaps with conveyancing — particularly where property is held jointly versus as tenants-in-common, which materially affects what passes by the will versus by survivorship. A solicitor will usually cover this discussion in the initial drafting consultation.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a will cost in Ireland?
A solicitor can draft a will in Ireland; will drafting is not currently available on this site. The same fee covers a professionally drafted, witnessed, and signed document — not a template — fully compliant with the Succession Act 1965. Mirror wills for a married couple are prepared as a pair and are likewise not currently available here. Wills involving trusts, foreign assets, blended-family beneficiaries, or business-succession planning are quoted individually in writing before any work begins, at a fee that depends on complexity.
Do I need a solicitor to make a will in Ireland?
No — handwritten wills are valid in Ireland if properly signed and witnessed. But the most common reason wills are challenged in the Irish High Court is improper execution: missing witnesses, beneficiary as witness, signature in the wrong place, or unclear testamentary intent. A professionally drafted will eliminates that risk. The cost difference between a properly-drafted will and a contested estate is typically a 50x to 200x multiple in legal fees, not counting the family conflict.
Can I make a will online in Ireland?
Yes — the Succession Act 1965 does not require an in-person meeting with a solicitor to make a will. The legal requirements are that the testator has testamentary capacity, signs the document in the presence of two witnesses (neither of whom can be a beneficiary or spouse of a beneficiary), and that the witnesses sign in the testator’s presence. Some solicitors coordinate the drafting online, although the will itself must still be signed on paper in the presence of two witnesses.
How often should I update my will in Ireland?
After any major life event: marriage (which automatically revokes any pre-marriage will under Section 85 of the Succession Act 1965 unless made in contemplation of that marriage), divorce, separation, the birth of a child, the death of a beneficiary, the acquisition of significant assets, or moving abroad permanently. As a default rule of thumb: review every five years, update on any of the above events. Ask the solicitor who drafted your will whether they charge to review and amend it later.
What happens if I die without a will in Ireland?
Your estate is distributed under the rules of intestacy in Part VI of the Succession Act 1965. If you have a spouse and children, the spouse takes two-thirds and the children share the remaining one-third. If you have only a spouse, the spouse takes the full estate. If you have only children, the children share equally. If neither, the estate passes to parents, siblings, or more distant relatives in a defined order. The Probate Office process for an intestate estate is more expensive and slower than for a testate estate — and costs can be open-ended for contested intestacies.
Get your will drafted
A professionally drafted, witnessed will compliant with the Succession Act 1965 is not currently available on this site. Mirror wills for a married couple are not currently available on this site. Complex wills quoted individually before any work begins. Or read our guide to a 30-minute online consultation with a solicitor of your choice if you want to walk through your situation first. All pricing is published — no retainer, no hourly meter, no surprise charges.
Not currently available — we are working to appoint a new solicitor. OnlineLegalServices.ie is operated by Plus Promotions Limited, which is not a solicitor’s practice and does not give legal advice, so the solicitor service described on this page cannot be ordered here; the page is kept as general information. To instruct a solicitor, use the Law Society of Ireland’s Find a Solicitor directory, or join our no-fee waiting list to be told when solicitor services are available again.