Wills should not be published in the newspapers

Gordon Gekko said:
It would be far better to end the publication of estate values.

Now that’s prurience.

It is disgusting that grieving families have their business publicised.
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Aren't wills, or at least probate details, in the public domain?
 
Gordon Gekko said:
It would be far better to end the publication of estate values.
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You can ask for the Estate value not to be published in the newspaper/news.

I am not sure of the exact process, but it was done a few years ago when a relation died and the details never appeared in the press.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
It would be far better to end the publication of estate values.
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"Publication" is a bit of a stretch.

The process is pretty convoluted involving an online search, completion of a paper form, and then payment via "Postal/Money Orders, or by cheques".

I don't think this is particularly easy to navigate, and almost certainly on purpose.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
I’m talking about rags like the Sindo… “Gordon Gekko €12,364,456”.

Terrible.
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It is terrible that you have that amount of money and I don't!

You are right, it should not be happening, and as you say, it is disgusting that grieving families have their business publicised.
 
I can see a legitimate public interest in wills being a public document. It is a certain level of protection against a dishonest executor defrauding legitimate beneficiaries by claiming there's nothing in the will for them.

However, the listings in the papers are quite distasteful and serve little if any positive purpose.

It's also notable that the really rich, as distinct from the comfortable middle class, mostly leave what appear to be quite modest wills. Those with the means (and knowledge) to engage good advice will ensure that the majority of their assets transfer to the next generation outside of the will in a tax efficient manner. CAT isn't a tax on the rich; it's a tax on the working class and middle class who were self-reliant, worked hard and lived frugally.
 
Yes, there's a clear public interest in wills being public documents, but I'd argue that it's therefore perfectly consistent that the totals thereof be noted in newspaper lists,
 
Right Winger said:
I can see a legitimate public interest in wills being a public document. It is a certain level of protection against a dishonest executor defrauding legitimate beneficiaries by claiming there's nothing in the will for them.
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Exactly. The application process to see a will discourages casual prurience but allows someone with a legitimate interest to access it.
Right Winger said:
However, the listings in the papers are quite distasteful and serve little if any positive purpose.
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It's very difficult to prohibit access but to forbid journalists from writing about it, especially when it comes to a person who is no longer alive so the right to a good reputation and privacy really are not relevant.
 
NoRegretsCoyote said:
It's very difficult to prohibit access but to forbid journalists from writing about it, especially when it comes to a person who is no longer alive so the right to a good reputation and privacy really are not relevant.
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Yeah, while it's distasteful I wouldn't like to see a prohibition on it; it would only generate unnecessary suspicion and conspiracy theories.
Ideally, one could rely on the good taste of the journalistic profession, but then again....
 
Right Winger said:
Yeah, while it's distasteful I wouldn't like to see a prohibition on it; it would only generate unnecessary suspicion and conspiracy theories.
Ideally, one could rely on the good taste of the journalistic profession, but then again....
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A reporting prohibition on the content of wills would be outrageous and absolutely not in the public interest.

There was a case a few decades ago where a long serving Dublin Corporation Councillor of outwardly modest means died and the processing of his estate revealed substantial and previously undisclosed wealth. This received considerable media coverage in the context of possible planning corruption and an investigation into it later formed part of the work of I think the Flood/Mahon Tribunal.

No way should reporting of cases like that be suppressed.
 
T McGibney said:
A reporting prohibition on the content of wills would be outrageous and absolutely not in the public interest.
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Absolutely. Couldn't agree more.

Again, I agree entirely. Although I wouldn't see a similar public interest in the modest little estate of Mrs Murphy two doors up the road.
 
I disagree. It is in bad taste to publish details of Mrs Murphy’s Will, which is exactly what papers like the Sindo do.

The relevant arms of the State (e.g. Revenue and Social Welfare) get the information directly when someone dies. They’re not trawling the tabloids and discovering corrupt politicians or tax dodgers via the Sindo.

Similarly, someone with a vested interest in a death can access the information.

But publishing such details in a national newspaper serves no legitimate purpose.

It should be stopped.
 
On the other hand, if a relative of your own dies and the total value of their estate is published at a level inconsistent with your knowledge of how they lived, this might alert you to anything funny that's been going on. For that reason alone, it's a useful safeguard.
 
Maybe I read the wrong papers, but the only recent details of an estate I can recall being published are those of Kathleen Reynolds, wife of Albert.

He was a public figure both in politics and business. I can't see a good reason for suppressing publication of this kind of information. We don't live in North Korea.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
But publishing such details in a national newspaper serves no legitimate purpose.

It should be stopped.
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It may well be distasteful but we do not need more impediments to free speech. The press must be free to publish factual information which is in the public domain. If this is to be "stopped" then the bar for what can be published would have to be reset very high indeed.
 
Nonsense.

The information could be made available in a place that a worried relative could find it, rather than having the Sindo readership saying “Wow, that McGibney fella was wealthy, wasn’t he” when you’re private business is printed in the paper.
 
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