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Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

https://carolmccormacksolicitors.ie/

McCormack Solicitors, Northwest Business Park, Carrick on Shannon (2026)

03/02/2023

What is a Grant of Probate?

A query we also receive frequently is questions pertaining to a Grant of Probate. A Grant of Probate is a document issued by the High Court which grants authority to the executor or executors of the will, to deal with the deceased’s person’s estate. The assets will be dealt with by the executors, according to the terms of the will. The executor can apply for the Grant, but it is usually handled by a solicitor.
If there is no valid will, a person is said to have died intestate. When this happens, the nearest next of kin of the deceased at the day of the death can take out a Grant of Administration.

There are however cases where it is not necessary to take out a Grant of Probate, such as;
1. If the person dies leaving small amounts of money in a bank or another financial institution in their name and the said institution agrees to release the funds without needing a grant. The decision of the financial institution is final.
2. If the person dies with assets held in joint names with another or other people. It is the general rule that those assets become the sole property of the other owner. When there is doubt, the intention of the deceased when they made the joint account is considered.
3. If the person dies leaving no assets, it is not necessary to extract a grant.

If you wish to be included in our regular newsletter to be kept up to date or if you have any specific queries in this matter, please contact the office directly on
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 071 9621846
www.carolmccormacksolicitors.ie

01/02/2023

Transfer between spouses

The law dealing with the transfer of assets between spouses is a frequent query we are asked about. Firstly, this kind of transfer is exempt from Gift Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Stamp Duty. After a transfer of this kind, the cost deemed from subsequent disposals will be determined by the date which the spouse first acquired the asset, not when they transferred it to the other spouse. It is also worth noting that the transferring spouse may lose some if not all their Retirement Relief threshold in the event of a subsequent sale of all or part of the asset in question. This is particularly important in relation to business and agriculture transfers.

If transferring farm or business assets into a joint name, it is important you also discuss this with your accountant or farm advisor. You also need to consider if a joint transfer will impact on a State Pension entitlement of the spouse who is being added to the title.

If you wish to be included in our regular newsletter to be kept up to date or if you have any specific queries in this matter, please contact the office directly on
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 071 9621846
www.carolmccormacksolicitors.ie

29/01/2023

“January Blues” Smoothie

For our recipe this month, we have fittingly gone for the “January Blues” smoothie, named after the key ingredient. This time of year, has everyone on a health drive, but it can also leave people feeling low-spirted after the holidays. This is the drink to help with both.

Ingredients
• 175g blueberries
• 1 small banana, sliced
• 1 tbsp natural or Greek yogurt
• 100ml apple juice, chilled
• 3-4 mint leaves (optional), plus extra to garnish

Method
• Put the blueberries, banana, yogurt, apple juice and mint, if using, in a blender and blitz until smooth. Add splash of water if it seems too thick.
• Pour the smoothie into a tall glass with a straw to serve. Garnish with a sprig of mint if you like.

Recipe Tip
You can use coconut yogurt or another dairy-free alternative to make it vegan.

27/01/2023

January Newsletter from McCormack Solicitors - https://mailchi.mp/carolmccormacksolicitors/january-newsletter-from-mc-cormack-solicitors

24/01/2023

REMINDER ON CAPITAL GAINS TAX RETURN

CGT Payment Deadline - 31 January 2023
The capital gains tax (CGT) payment dates for the tax year 2022 are as follows:-
• 15 December 2022 for the initial period (disposals in the period 01 January 2022 to 30 November 2022)
• 31 January 2023 for the later period (disposals in December 2022)

23/01/2023

ℹ️🏚️The Croí Cónaithe Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant

The Croí Cónaithe Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant is now available for vacant (up to €30,000) and derelict properties (up to €50,000) in cities and All Rural Areas.

Local authorities administer the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant. Local authorities will prioritise applications in areas where the level of vacancy or dereliction is high.

To apply for the grant, complete the application form at the bottom of this page and submit it to your relevant local authority.

Application details here 👉 http://bit.ly/3D5hnJb

23/12/2022

As 2022 comes to an end, we at McCormack Solicitors wish to take this opportunity to thank you, our clients, very much for your ongoing support and loyalty to our business.

We are very grateful for the continued support of our clients and for the ongoing referrals which numerous clients give to us during the year, so a very big “go raibh míle maith agat” to you all for that support.

As an office, we have a policy that we are not sending Christmas cards to clients. However, we will be making a charitable donation to both St Vincent De Paul and to MSF Doctors Without Borders instead of sending Christmas cards.

As a business we also support children in a school in the Tooma area of Kenya and we are selling Christmas cards through the office for that charity at €7.00 per pack. If anyone would like to purchase a pack they can email reception and we will send them out to you.

May we take this opportunity to wish you and your families a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas and all our best wishes for the New Year in 2023.

21/12/2022

Christmas Recipes from the Staff at McCormack Solicitors.

Helen, Sheila and Liz who work in the office have given me the following seasonal recipe which we hope you enjoy:-

Mince Pies

Ingredients required for Mince Pies
• 225g/8oz Plain Flour
• 125g/4oz Caster Sugar
• 100g packet Ground Almonds
• 125g/4oz Butter or Margarine (room temperature)
• 1 Egg (beaten)
• A little water, if necessary
• 450g/1lb Jar Mincemeat
• Icing sugar
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Lightly grease patty/bun tins.
2. Put flour, sugar and ground almonds into a mixing bowl and mix well together.
3. Rub butter/margarine through the dry ingredients. Add the egg and water, if required and mix to a soft dough.
4. Turn onto a lightly floured board and gently knead.
5. Cover with cling film and keep in fridge until ready to use. The pastry will keep for about three days.
6. Roll pastry on a floured board and cut rounds or stars with a cutter to fit greased bun/patty tins. Put a teaspoon of mincemeat in each and cut a lid from remaining pastry to put on top. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Dust with icing sugar.

19/12/2022

For the season that’s in it what a beautiful poem by Patrick Kavanagh to reflect on, A Christmas Childhood. We hope you enjoy it.

A Christmas Childhood
by Patrick Kavanagh
I
One side of the potato-pits was white with frost –
How wonderful that was, how wonderful!
And when we put our ears to the paling-post
The music that came out was magical.
The light between the ricks of hay and straw
Was a hole in Heaven’s gable. An apple tree
With its December-glinting fruit we saw –
O you, Eve, were the world that tempted me
To eat the knowledge that grew in clay
And death the germ within it! Now and then
I can remember something of the gay
Garden that was childhood’s. Again
The tracks of cattle to a drinking-place,
A green stone lying sideways in a ditch,
Or any common sight, the transfigured face
Of a beauty that the world did not touch.

II
My father played the melodion
Outside at our gate;
There were stars in the morning east
And they danced to his music.
Across the wild bogs his melodion called
To Lennons and Callans.
As I pulled on my trousers in a hurry
I knew some strange thing had happened.
Outside in the cow-house my mother
Made the music of milking;
The light of her stable-lamp was a star
And the frost of Bethlehem made it twinkle.
A water-hen screeched in the bog,
Mass-going feet
Crunched the wafer-ice on the pot-holes,
Somebody wistfully twisted the bellows wheel.
My child poet picked out the letters
On the grey stone,
In silver the wonder of a Christmas townland,
The winking glitter of a frosty dawn.
Cassiopeia was over
Cassidy’s hanging hill,
I looked and three whin bushes rode across
The horizon — the Three Wise Kings.
And old man passing said:
‘Can’t he make it talk –
The melodion.’ I hid in the doorway
And tightened the belt of my box-pleated coat.
I nicked six nicks on the door-post
With my penknife’s big blade –
There was a little one for cutting to***co.
And I was six Christmases of age.
My father played the melodion,
My mother milked the cows,
And I had a prayer like a white rose pinned
On the Virgin Mary’s blouse.

18/12/2022

December Newsletter from McCormack Solicitors - https://mailchi.mp/carolmccormacksolicitors/december-newsletter-from-mc-cormack-solicitors-15794330

25/11/2022

I am purchasing a house and obtaining a mortgage. What do I need to know?

The first thing you need to do is to approach a number of banks and see what package they can give you as regards a mortgage. Different banks can offer different packages and it is worth shopping around to ensure that you get the best offer from a bank. You don’t need to stay with the bank you have your day-to-day banking with. There are various mortgage options open to you as follows:-

1. A fixed interest rate mortgage. This is where your mortgage interest rate is fixed for a specific term and your repayments don’t change during that term. Mortgages can be set for three to five to seven years. The advantage of this is that if it is a fixed rate, you know the exact mortgage amount that you are paying every month for that fixed period of time. However, if you change banks or remortgage with a different company, or pay off your mortgage earlier, the bank may charge you a fee for doing so if you are on a fixed rate mortgage.

2. Variable rate mortgage. This is a variable rate mortgage, where during the duration of your mortgage, your mortgage interest rate can go up or down depending on what the Mortgage Bank, the Central Bank and the European Central Bank decide should happen. Over the last number of months variable rates have risen. The bank will always tell you in advance if your variable interest rate is going to go up or down and how much your monthly repayment amount will change as a result of that.

3. Green fixed rate mortgage. Many banks are offering this option to customers. If you are buying or building a high energy rated home, they are offering a new lower rate of interest and to obtain that from a bank you normally need a Building Energy Rating Certificate (BER Certificate) of between an A1 and a B3.

Once your mortgage is approved, the bank will send a mortgage pack to your solicitor and to you. Your solicitor will go through the terms and conditions of the mortgage with you. Remember that it is always possible to move mortgage companies particularly if you are not on a fixed rate mortgage. This is something worth considering particularly if your current mortgage is at a variable interest rate.

If you wish to be included in our regular newsletter to be kept up to date or if you have any specific queries in this matter, please contact the office directly on
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 071 9621846
www.carolmccormacksolicitors.ie

23/11/2022

I have had an accident at work and am now on sick leave with a significant reduction in my wages. What are my options?

Employers are not required by Irish Law to pay you occupational sick pay. Therefore, if you have been injured at work, there is no obligation on your employer to pay your wages while you are off work. You can apply to Social Welfare and seek the relevant Social Welfare payments, which you may be entitled to if you are out of work because of an injury.

If you have had an accident at work, you may be entitled to compensation because of the accident. Furthermore, the compensation also includes out of pocket expenses and a Loss of Earnings Claim. These out-of-pocket expenses are referred to as Special Damages. Special Damages also includes such out of pocket expenses as pharmacy bills, physiotherapy bills, MRI scans, travel expenses and any other expenses which you have incurred as a result of the accident.

Your employer has a duty to provide a safe and secure workplace, providing you with proper training, supervision and equipment to carry out your job. If an accident at work was not your fault or was partly due to the fault of your employer, you may be entitled to reasonable compensation for your injuries together with your out of pocket expenses to include loss of earnings.

If you wish to be included in our regular newsletter to be kept up to date or if you have any specific queries in this matter, please contact the office directly on
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 071 9621846
www.carolmccormacksolicitors.ie

McCormack Solicitors

03/02/2023

01/02/2023

29/01/2023

27/01/2023

24/01/2023

23/01/2023

23/12/2022

21/12/2022

19/12/2022

18/12/2022

25/11/2022

23/11/2022

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Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm