Section 117 is Irish inheritance law’s correction mechanism: where a parent’s will fails in the moral duty to make proper provision for a child, the court can order provision from the estate. It is neither an equality statute nor a lottery — it is a disciplined test with known weights, a private hearing, and the least forgiving clock in the field.
The Test
The court stands in the shoes of a prudent and just parent with this testator’s means and asks whether proper provision was made for this child — on the whole circumstances: the child’s needs, health and earning capacity; provision already made in life (the education, the site, the business — lifetime generosity answers the duty); the estate’s size and the legitimate competing claims; the relationship’s history, estrangement included; and the special claims — the carer, the contributor, the child who cannot provide for themselves. Two structural rules frame every case: provision ordered cannot invade the surviving spouse’s protected position, and proceedings are heard in camera — the family’s circumstances stay private.
The Clock, Again and Always
Six months from representation first issuing, and the court cannot extend it — the rule that decides more section 117 outcomes than the merits do, because families discover it late. The grant date is therefore the first fact of every file (public record, establishable in a day), and the merits assessment, the settlement correspondence and any proceedings all sequence inside the window — the full treatment of the deadline is at the six-month limit explained.
Time limits in estate disputes are among the strictest in Irish law — a section 117 claim must be brought within six months of the grant issuing, and the court cannot extend it. Other claims run on their own clocks, some short, some with extensions. Never assume you are out of time, and never assume you have time: take advice promptly. Nothing on this page is legal advice for your situation.
How These Cases Actually Resolve
Mostly by settlement: the well-assembled picture — circumstances, provision history, the estate’s real contents (including anything the emptied-estate toolkit pulls back in) — framed in correspondence, resolves the majority without hearing, and mediation fits these family cases particularly well. The practice page carries the full machinery: section 117 claims; whether your situation fits the door at all is two minutes on the Will Challenge Checker.
Left Out or Under-Provided?
The merits and the clock, assessed honestly in one confidential call - starting with the grant date, because everything does.
Call 01 5827148Related Reading
Section 117 - FAQs
About the Author
Richard O’Shea, Solicitor, TEP practises with Mary Molloy Solicitors (established 1981) in probate, will disputes and estate litigation throughout Ireland. Richard is a qualified Trust and Estate Practitioner (STEP) — the international specialist credential for wills, trusts and estates — and holds a Diploma in Mediation from the Law Society of Ireland, a pairing built for exactly this work: specialist estates expertise, and the means to keep families out of war where that is still possible. Contact Richard on 01 5827148 or richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every estate and family situation is different, and time limits in this area are strictly applied - obtain advice on your own circumstances before acting or deciding not to act. We do not advise on tax; taxation questions should be directed to your accountant and Revenue’s published guidance. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.