Section 58 of the Succession Act 2006provides that an application to contest the Will of a deceased person must be made no later than 12 months after the date of death of a deceased person. However, the Court can on sufficient cause being shown order that an application be permitted to proceed notwithstanding that it is made more than 12 months after the date of death of the deceased person. There must be a very real reason why the application was not brought within time. For example if the applicant did not know the deceased had died or if the applicant did not know the terms of the Will of the deceased (and had made reasonable enquiries) then the Court is likely to make an order that the application be permitted to proceed. If however the applicant has simply changed his or her mind having full knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the estate and the terms of the Will then the Court is unlikely to accede to the request. It is very important that if a person who is eligible to contest a Will and intends doing so obtains quality legal advice early with sufficient time to commence proceedings within 12 months of the date of death.
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