The High Court has refused to remove the executor of a County Limerick estate despite concerns about delay and a disputed land transaction involving about six acres at Cappanahanna, Murroe.
Mary Byrne sought to replace Michael Leonard as executor of the estate of her brother, John Joseph O’Farrell, who died on October 29, 2022. Byrne is the principal beneficiary under his 2007 will.
Her application centred on Leonard’s claim to lands which O’Farrell had agreed to sell to him before the will was made. Byrne questioned the validity and enforceability of that transaction and argued that Leonard’s personal interest in the land conflicted with his duties as executor.
Ms Justice Siobhán Stack found a fundamental difficulty with that argument. The will itself expressly directed that the contract for sale to Leonard be completed if it remained unfinished when O’Farrell died. The court said Byrne could not seek authority to administer the estate under that will while accepting the provisions benefiting her and rejecting the direction concerning Leonard’s land contract.
Documents before the court included a signed 2007 contract stating a €60,000 purchase price and a signed deed of transfer. The deed had not been stamped and Leonard had not become registered owner. The court did not finally determine ownership, but said the documents appeared capable of giving Leonard a substantial existing interest in the lands.
Leonard had also previously asserted that the estate owed him up to €40,000 for works carried out on the property. That debt claim is now statute-barred, and the judge considered his current position to be that he would instead pursue completion of the land transfer.
Stack J. said Leonard’s correspondence had been unusual in tone and the administration had been delayed. However, she did not find serious misconduct or a sufficient conflict of interest to justify removal.
The application was refused. The judge stressed that this conclusion depended heavily on Leonard acting promptly to obtain probate. Any further delay, or any attempt to administer the estate contrary to the will, could support a fresh removal application.