Online probate working ‘extremely well’

The Courts Service portal will introduce online forms for statements of truth and for new Circuit Family filings from tomorrow (Friday 30 October).

This is part of a move away from using Microsoft Word forms, the Courts Service has said.

In the Courts Portal and Circuit Court Family Law webinar (23 October), Mark Dunne, head of digital at the Courts Service, explained that online forms suited complex processes and had been working “extremely well” in online probate since it launched last June.

Of over 2,100 probate applications submitted through the portal to date, approximately 50% of all grants of probate applications were coming through the portal.

The hope in introducing online forms for Circuit Family is that it will help the data-entry aspect of the portal and improve the quality of the applications that are received.

Efficient turnaround

Efficient turnaround times are important.

Dunne said: “We hope by introducing online forms, we'll be able to do a lot of the upfront validation that's required, and get to the stage where we'll be able to auto-issue the vast majority of filings through the portal.”

The move away from MS Word also addresses compatibility issues for firms not using Microsoft Office, as well as the difficulty of completing Word forms on mobile devices.

Use across multiple devices

The new web forms are designed to work across computers, tablets, and phones.

Existing cases and filings started or submitted before 30 October will continue to support Word forms but, from 23 November, online forms will be the only option for Circuit Family filings,

On foot of practitioner feedback, a change has been made to statements of truth, which originally required the maker to have an email address and mobile phone to verify their identity.

This created difficulties for clients who were not comfortable using digital services.

A ‘sign in my presence’ function has been introduced to allow clients to sign a statement of truth electronically in their solicitor’s presence, using the solicitor’s device.

The solicitor must confirm the client’s identity and that the person signing is physically present; the client can review the statement on screen or in physical form before signing.

From 30 October, statements of truth will also be generated through the portal’s online forms rather than the existing Microsoft Word documents.

Emer Darcy, head of strategy and reform at the Courts Service, gave an outline of new Circuit family-law forms which will be effective from 23 November, and after which date the old forms will no longer be accepted.

On the new circuit court rules, Darcy explained that for divorce, judicial separation, dissolution of partnership, and the defence and counterclaim it will be Forms 37E and 37Z.

For all other family law applications, it will be Form 37F and its response, 37ZA.

They replace Civil Bill Form 2N2S and the Defence Form 6A.

There will also be a new appearance form and a new affidavit for use across all family-law cases.

The new forms will be available through the Courts Service website and will be in use nationwide.

Practitioners should review templates

Practitioners should review their own templates and ensure the correct versions are being used from 23 November.

Darcy stressed that changes were only to the forms and “there is no business or process change at all for the court”.

The Courts Service will hold a further webinar on 11 November to explain the new forms in more detail, and practitioners can also contact familylawreform@courts.ie

During the Q&A, concerns were raised about duplication when using the portal, particularly where information has already been gathered and documents drafted in a firm’s own system.

Balance of needs

Owen Harrison, chief information officer at the Courts Service, said the service was trying to balance the needs of frequent users with those of less frequent users and lay litigants, while improving the quality and consistency of information reaching the courts.

Harrison pointed out that solicitors could bypass the portal’s ‘order builder’ by copying and pasting existing text, with a similar facility available for endorsements of claim. 

He added that they were also looking at ways for solicitors to share draft forms with counsel and clients through the portal before finalising them for signature.

Other points clarified during the Q&A included:

• A notice of motion will be submitted through an online form, with the substantive text pasted into it. The resulting document will be submitted electronically for review and, if approved, listed for court. Solicitors will receive notification of listing dates and subsequent changes through the portal,
• Civil bills can be served digitally or physically. Digital service requires the recipient’s email address and provides secure access to the portal to file an entry of appearance. Physical service includes a cover sheet with a code for accessing the case. Use of the portal is not mandatory,
• There are no fees or stamp duty for Circuit Court family-law proceedings. Where fees do arise in other proceedings, such as probate, these can be paid through the portal.