Practice Direction 03/2021 - Consolidated Probate practice Direction (2021)
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Neutral Citation | Practice Direction 03/2021 - Consolidated Probate practice Direction (2021) |
| Court | Court of Judicature (NI) |
| Date | 22 October 2021 |
1
PRACTICE DIRECTION 3/2021
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
CHANCERY DIVISION (PROBATE)
CONSOLIDATED PROBATE PRACTICE DIRECTION (2021)
INTRODUCTION
1. This Practice Direction consolidates and updates the Probate Practice Directions and
Practice Guidance Notes1 with effect from 1st November 2021. Other relevant Practice
Directions continue to apply2.
2. References in this Practice Direction to ‘the Rules’ mean The Rules of the Court of
Judicature (Northern Ireland) 1980.
PART 1 – GENERAL
Correspondence
3. Postal correspondence about probate business should be addressed to The Probate
Office, Royal Courts of Justice, Belfast, BT1 3JF.
Applications for Grants
4. An application for a grant may be made using the NI Direct online portal at Probate
Online NI or by lodging a hard copy application by post or in person with the Probate
Office. Standardised printable forms which may be used for making hard copy
applications together with other probate-related forms are available at Probate Online NI.
5. Making an application using the online portal or, if that is not possible, using the
relevant standardised printable form (‘standardised form’) will facilitate processing of the
application and may reduce the number of inquiries that the Probate Master has to make
before being satisfied that a grant may be issued. Applicants for grants and those
representing applicants are encouraged therefore to make applications using the online
portal or the standardised forms wherever possible.
1 PN 3/2006; PN 4/2006; PN 1/2007; PN 4/2007; PD 1/2009; PD 4/2009; PD 3/2012 and PN 2/2013 are
revoked and replaced by this Practice Direction.
2 At the time of issue, those which apply are PD 5/200 5 (Preparation of Affidavits and Exhibits) and PD
9/2006 (Unique Solicitors Reference). Practice Directions can be accessed at Judiciary NI - Practice
Directions.
2
6. This Practice Direction deals with applications which are not made, or cannot be
made, through the online portal or by using the standardised forms. Where an application
is made using the online portal, it must be made in accordance with instructions given
through the online portal. Should those instructions diverge from this Practice Direction,
the instructions in the portal should be followed.
7. Generally, errors in applications can be minimised by compliance with the relevant
legislation, including Order 97 of the Rules, and by adequate use of The Law Society of
Northern Ireland’s publication Probate Applications Less Frequently Encountered and
established textbooks. For example, Sheena Grattan’s Succession Law in Northern Ireland
(1996) provides guidance on many points of Northern Ireland law and practice; Margaret
K M Aiken’s Probate Practice Notes (‘Aiken’) although published in 1981, contains
precedents and guidance on many points of practice and procedure; Tristram and Coote’s
Probate Practice (the current Edition of which is the 32nd [2021]) contains guidance on
points of practice and precedents for the many common and uncommon situations where
Northern Ireland law and practice coincide with those of England and Wales. The
guidance and precedents obtainable from such texts should be adapted as appropriate
having regard to the current requirements of the Rules, this Practice Direction and any
other relevant Practice Direction or Practice Guidance Note. 3
Title of Applications for Grants and Other Documents4
8. The title of all applications for grants of representation, originating and
interlocutory processes and other related documents should include “CHANCERY
OFFICE (PROBATE)” immediately below “CHANCERY DIVISION”.
Checklist
9. All postal and in person applications for a grant which do not use the relevant
standardised form should be accompanied by a completed and signed checklist confirming
that the application has been checked for compliance with the relevant legislation, this
Practice Direction and any other relevant Practice Directions and Practice Guidance Notes.
Applications will not be processed unless a completed checklist is submitted. A template
checklist can be accessed here:
PROBATE
CHECKLIST.doc
*
3 Drawn from PN 4/2007 - Points in Practice (1st Reissue)
4 Formerly PD 1/2009 - Transfer of Probate Business to Chancery Division
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