Peter Duff & Co. Solicitors

17/08/2020

Another happy client.

12/06/2017

Probate – Advice on Solicitors’ Charges

Solicitors are obliged by Section 68 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994 to inform their clients in writing about the fees the client will be charged when work is completed. This applies to probate work as it does to any other matter. However, the Law Society recommends that when solicitors are instructed to apply for probate and to administer an estate, they should provide written information about their costs not only to the client (who is the Executor of the will), but also to any beneficiaries out of whose share of the estate the legal costs will have to be paid. The solicitor should therefore seek instructions from the Executor authorising the solicitor to write direct to those beneficiaries about the estimated costs. In practice this means that any person who is entitled to a percentage share of the residue of an estate (i.e. what is left after the estate debts are paid) should be given advice in writing concerning the legal costs that will be charged to the estate.

28/02/2017

Gift and Inheritance Tax - Dwelling House Relief:

Until 23rd December 2016 a person could give a gift of a house to another person without the recipient having any liability to gift or inheritance tax. Section 86 of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 provided that where a person had lived in a dwelling house owned by another person for a period of three years, he or she could then receive the house as a gift or inheritance tax-free provided that certain conditions were met, such as for example that the beneficiary did not own or part-own another dwelling. The provision was a popular means of transferring a family home to a son or daughter in a tax-efficient way. However, the Finance Act 2016 has limited this relief so that now it can be availed of only where a house is received as an inheritance and not as a gift, unless the recipient is elderly or incapacitated.

27/04/2016

Swearing of Affidavits:
Affidavits are a means of providing written sworn evidence. They are sworn before solicitors or commissioners for oaths. The deponent, i.e. the person swearing the affidavit, must swear that they are the person they say they are in the affidavit and that the contents of the affidavit are true. A solicitor cannot administer an oath in any matter in which he has or she has an interest, so a person cannot swear an Affidavit in a particular matter before a solicitor that is acting for him or her in the matter to which the affidavit pertains. The President of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, recently pronounced that when administering an oath to a deponent a suitable religious text must be provided and the affidavit must be properly sworn. Instead of swearing an oath, a deponent may make a solemn affirmation as to the truth of the contents of the affidavit if that person has no religious belief or has a moral objection to swearing an oath.

24/03/2016

Employment Law - Remuneration for Travel Time

In a recent case the EU Court of Justice found that in certain circumstances employees must be paid for the time they spend travelling to and from work. The employer in the case was Tyco, which was engaged in the installation and maintenance of security equipment at various locations in Spain. Some employees of the company were required to spend as much as three hours a day travelling to these locations but were not paid for that travel time. The EU Court of Justice held that where an employee has no fixed place of work, he or she must be remunerated for the time spent travelling to the first location and from the last location that they are required to visit during their working day. The decision is binding on Irish employers.

10/12/2015

Advance Healthcare Directives – Living Wills:
The Assisted Decision-Making Capacity Bill 2013 has been making its way through the Oireachtas and is expected to be passed by the end of the year. The bill includes a scheme for Advance Healthcare Directives, which are referred to in common parlance as “living wills”. The bill provides that any person over 18 and who has capacity will be able to make an Advance Healthcare Directive. The Directive must be in writing and can be used by a person to refuse a specific form of medical treatment at a future date. The treatment which it is envisaged will be refused must be clearly specified and the circumstances in which it is to apply must be clearly outlined. The Directive can only take effect at a time when the person lacks capacity. A person’s capacity will be assessed on the basis of their ability to understand the nature and consequences of a decision.

26/11/2015

On 10th November Minister for the Environment, Alan Kelly announced a number of reforms to the law governing private residential tenancies. His new Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill provides that a landlord can only increase rent every two years instead of every year. Therefore rents increased in 2015 may not be further increased until 2017. The Government has prioritised the bill and expects to enact it before the end of the year. The Minister also plans to introduce a deposit protection scheme, whereby security deposits can be lodged with the Private Residential Tenancies Board instead of given by a tenant to a landlord.

29/10/2015

Employment Law - The Workplace Relations Commission:
On 1st October 2015 a new system for dealing with workplace relations was established pursuant to the Workplace Relations Act 2015. This Act creates a two-tier system for the resolution of workplace disputes. It replaces five existing bodies, including the Employment Appeals Tribunal, with two bodies, namely the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court. Under the new act proceedings will not be heard in public, and therefore, members of the public or the press cannot attend. Decisions will be published on the Workplace Relations website, but details of claimants and respondents will not be given. Hearings of matters such as unfair dismissals claims, which were previously held in public by a three-member panel, will now be held in private by an Adjudication Officer.

20/07/2015

Please go to the link below and vote for Jane Carroll as best shop.
http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/best-shops-2015/nominate

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08/05/2015

Because of advances in medical care, it has become more common for people to live for longer periods of time with conditions such as dementia and the effects of stroke. Many people are unaware that it is possible to execute a document known as an Enduring Power of Attorney (an EPA), by which they appoint a person, usually a trusted family member, to deal with their financial and other affairs in the event that they become mentally incapable. An EPA must be drafted by a solicitor, and a doctor must certify that the person executing the EPA understands its effect. Notice that the power has been executed must be given to two people, usually family members. An EPA does not take effect unless and until the person who executed it loses the ability to manage his or her affairs. Peter Duff & Co. charge a very competitive fee of Euro 450 for all matters involved in executing an EPA, including taking full instructions, drafting the EPA, the Statutory Notices and the affidavits of service, attending to the proper ex*****on of EPA, including obtaining the GP’s certificate, sending the statutory notices by registered post, and swearing the affidavits of service. The fee also includes storage of the EPA and affidavits of service in a fireproof safe.

26/02/2015

The Workplace Relations Bill 2014 is making its way through the Oireachtas at present. If Section 87 of the Bill is enacted it will make an important change to the way annual leave is accrued. Currently the entitlement to annual leave is governed by Section 19 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, which provides that an employee in the private sector does not accrue annual leave while they are absent from work due to illness. However, Section 87 provides that an employee is on sick leave will accrue annual leave during the period of absence. This brings private sector employees into line with public sector employees who, since a decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union in 2009, have been able to accrue annual leave while on sick leave.

11/02/2015

The Employment Appeals Tribunal recently heard a claim for unfair dismissal by a former employee of a hotel, the owner of which was a limited company in receivership. The Claimant alleged that following his redundancy from his position as Meetings and Events Manager, the employer advertised for and hired another person to a position that was essentially the same as that previously held by the Claimant. The Tribunal found that there was no true redundancy of the position in question and that the dismissal was therefore unfair. The employee was awarded compensation totaling €51,345.84.