“Legal processes in Northern Ireland are similar…but different”

---

As the third generation member of the Rankin family to have his name above the door at Northern Ireland law firm Cleaver Fulton Rankin (CFR), Tim Rankin’s career is steeped in charity legacy management.

A full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), he specialises in the drafting and administration of Wills, Trusts and Estates as well as dealing with capacity issues such as Controllership and Enduring Powers of Attorney.

---

CFR boasts the largest private client team in terms of headcount in Northern Ireland, with three STEP qualified directors dealing with day-to-day issues such as estate planning and administration, legacies and trusts. Together, they work closely with the dispute resolution team.

Tim’s fellow director Michael Graham, Head of the Private Client Department, is also on the Board of Will to Give, an organisation which brings together over 60 Northern Ireland charities, encouraging individuals to leave a charitable gift in their Will.

The CFR team works directly with a number of charities, including well-known names such as Cancer Research UK, Marie Curie and Barnardos; most often in cases where there are residuary beneficiary disputes – or potential disputes.

Tim explains that in Northern Ireland some things are done differently: “We always need to tell people that while we are part of the UK and not part of the Republic of Ireland, we have our own separate jurisdiction – so claims are similar, but not identical.

“For instance, where there are disputes, these would be defined under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) (NI) Order 1979 – which is our equivalent of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. We also don’t have the Law of Property Act 1925 and I think people often don’t realise there are certain differences.”

Tim says the Belfast firm sometimes receives estate enquiries from both English law firms and charities who are confused as to whether a case is an Irish estate or a Northern Irish one.

He jokes: “It’s been going on so long that we don’t take offence and we’re always happy to help deal with any queries, even if it turns out it’s not on our side of the border.

“There are plenty of estates that have assets on both sides, so we may end up with both Irish and Northern Irish jurisdictions being involved.”

In such cases, CFR works closely with Dublin-based fellow ILM Corporate Partner Gartlan Furey.

The pair collaborated at this year’s ILM Conference, jointly hosting a breakout session entitled A comparison of Probate Law in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It was, says Tim, a great opportunity to meet legacy officers who had specific issues they wanted to talk about, and to see existing clients face-to-face for the first time.

Often, he says, legacy officers will get in touch to say they know their charity is a residuary beneficiary to an estate but, while they will have received a copy of the Will, they haven’t heard anything for several months and the executors and/or the solicitors aren’t engaging.

In those instances, Tim says often a “light touch nudge” is needed to move things along, but he cites one case where a trustee company was required to take over the administration of an estate on behalf of the charity because the executors refused to have anything to do with it.

“As the residuary beneficiary, the charity needed someone to administer the estate and, as we have one of Northern Ireland’s very few trustee companies – Cleaver Fulton Rankin Trustees Limited – we were able to act as the attorney, take out the Grant of Probate, sell the property and administer the estate,” he explains.

Another point Tim is keen to explain is that Northern Ireland courts may look more favourably on claims against estates than their UK counterparts.

“Sometimes we find ourselves advising English-based legacy officers, usually in larger charities who may be used to certain claims being told to ‘go away’; that in Northern Ireland those claims may be listened to slightly more sympathetically. That can be a difficult message to get across.

“The courts here are generally more willing to listen to applications. For example, if a parent has given all their money to a cats and dogs home and left out the adult children, then any claim by those children under the 1979 Order won’t be shut down as a right, the court won’t say no to at least considering it.

“Because we’re a small jurisdiction, there are not a lot of reported cases, proceedings will be issued but things are often settled at the doors of the court. It’s another example of how things are similar but different.”

Tim currently teaches the estate accounts module at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies while Michael also provides local Private Client training with Blue Sky Training Limited.

“People tend to come to us because they have an estate that is becoming contentious, they need a trustee company to get involved to assist with the administration, or the estate has been administered and they feel the estate accounts don’t make sense.

“While a lot of firms don’t really place that much importance on estate accounts, I think everybody should know what they look like and be able to see if something has been dealt with incorrectly,” he adds.

“We appreciate a lot of charities may only have a sole or part-time legacy officer, which is why we’re always happy to be a sounding board for any questions. If someone is concerned about an issue and is not sure if it’s big enough to warrant instructing us, then we are always happy to have a conversation and they can bounce ideas off us.

“Not everything has to be top dollar work – we’re here to help everyone who is a member of the ILM.”

CFR is ranked in Band One of the Chambers legal directory for Private Wealth Law and is the only Northern Ireland firm ranked in Band One for Private Wealth Disputes. The firm is also recognised in Tier One by The Legal 500 for Personal tax, trust and probate.