Tag Archives: succession planning

SOLICITORS around the country have been issued with guidelines that enable them to break with legal tradition – but still stay within the law – in order to respond to a sharp rise in the number of people making wills. Ennis solicitor Sharon Cahir said the guidance from The Law Society of Ireland, designed to facilitate social distancing, cocooning and self-isolation, had seen situations were clients signed wills while witnesses observed through the window of homes or cars. Ms Cahir put the rise in demand for legal services down, not just to concern over Coronavirus, but to the increase in time spent alone or with family members, and the opportunity to think about the future. “Covid-19 is bringing mortality into the consciousness of everybody,” she remarked. “I think what it has done is made people very conscious about whether they have a plan in place if they were to get ill. I find that the very vulnerable, who are cocooned, …

The Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) president, Bertie O’Leary has welcomed budget changes to assist succession planning. Mr O’Leary noted the purpose of the recent review of existing reliefs in the agri-sector by both the Departments of Finance and Agriculture was in part with a view to enhance benefits that seemed to be working well and to identify measures from other countries that would have benefits for Irish agriculture. Mr O’Leary has welcomed proposals to increase the income tax exempt thresholds by 50%, together with the introduction of a new threshold for leases of 15 years and over and the removal of the current 40 years-of-age threshold for leasing relief. He said this will provide greater certainty when it comes to succession planning. It should facilitate more frequent and earlier transfer of productive assets to a younger generation of trained farmers. This will create consequent benefits with increased output from farms and increased value added from the agri-sector. “Income volatility …