Mary Molloy SolicitorsFamily Law · Kilkenny
Insights

Writing on Irish family law

Twenty articles in four collections, written from practice: how farms, companies, pensions and cross-border wealth are actually dealt with in Irish divorce and separation.

Farms and Land

Inherited holdings, valuations, partnerships and keeping the farm intact.

Inherited Farmland and Proper Provision: How Irish Courts Approach the Home Farm

How Irish family courts treat inherited farmland in divorce: the different category principle, length of marriage, contributions and structuring provision around the holding.

The Family Farm and the Non-Owning Spouse: Contribution, Recognition and Provision

What the non-owning spouse on an Irish farm should know in separation: how homemaker and farm contributions are weighed and how provision can be structured.

Agricultural Valuations in Divorce: Where Farm Cases Are Really Fought

Agricultural land valuation in Irish family law: land type, entitlements, development potential, going concern versus break-up value, and testing the other side's valuer.

Farm Partnerships, Companies and Divorce: When the Next Generation Is Already In

Separation where the farm is held in a registered farm partnership or company, or where a son or daughter already farms: how third-party structures affect provision.

Keeping the Farm Intact: The Orders a Court Can Make Short of Sale

The menu of orders Irish courts can use in farm divorces instead of ordering a sale: staged lump sums, property adjustment of non-core parcels, pensions and secured maintenance.

Business and Pensions

Company valuation, director disclosure and pension adjustment orders.

Valuing a Private Company in Divorce: What the Multiple Hides

How private companies are valued in Irish divorce proceedings: maintainable earnings, multiples, minority discounts and the assumptions worth attacking.

The Director Spouse and Disclosure: Reading Between the Filed Accounts

Financial disclosure where a spouse controls a company: management accounts, directors' loans, related-party transfers and the discovery that reaches them.

Pension Adjustment Orders Explained: The Order That Only a Court Can Make

Pension adjustment orders in Irish divorce and judicial separation: how designation works, retirement versus contingent benefits, transfer options and drafting pitfalls.

Self-Administered Pensions and Divorce: When the Pension Owns the Property

Small self-administered schemes and personal retirement bonds in Irish divorce: property-holding pensions, valuation, liquidity and pension adjustment orders.

Shareholdings and Share Transfers on Separation: Pre-Emption, Consents and Reality

Transferring or retaining company shares in Irish separation and divorce: property adjustment orders, pre-emption rights, shareholder agreements and workable alternatives.

Process and Strategy

Forum, case progression, interim reliefs, reports and costs.

Circuit Court vs High Court Family Law: Choosing the Forum

How to decide between the Circuit Family Court and the High Court for Irish divorce and judicial separation: thresholds, costs, procedure and strategy.

What Happens at Case Progression in Family Law Proceedings

Case progression in Circuit Court family law: what the County Registrar deals with, what must be exchanged, and how to use the process rather than endure it.

Expert Welfare Reports: Section 47 and Section 32 in Practice

Welfare reports in Irish family proceedings: section 47 of the Family Law Act 1995 and section 32 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, and how parents should engage with assessors.

Interim Reliefs: Holding the Line While the Case Is Prepared

Interim applications in Irish family law: maintenance pending suit, orders freezing assets, occupation of the family home and protective orders while divorce proceedings run.

Costs in Family Law: What Drives Them and What Controls Them

Legal costs in Irish divorce and family proceedings: what makes cases expensive, section 150 letters, who pays, and how preparation and settlement discipline control cost.

Complex and International

Foreign assets, jurisdiction after Brexit, trusts and finality.

Foreign Assets and Disclosure: The Worldwide Reach of the Affidavit of Means

Disclosing and pursuing foreign property, accounts and structures in Irish divorce: worldwide disclosure, tracing, enforcement abroad and settlement drafting.

Divorce Jurisdiction After Brexit: Irish-UK Cases on a New Footing

How Brexit changed divorce jurisdiction and recognition between Ireland and the UK: habitual residence, parallel proceedings, recognition of decrees and maintenance enforcement.

Trusts as a Shield in Divorce: What Irish Courts Actually Do

Can a trust protect assets from divorce in Ireland? How courts treat discretionary trusts, variation of settlements, resources analysis and transfers into trust before proceedings.

Second Bites: Further Provision After Divorce and How Settlements Guard Against It

Applications for further provision after Irish divorce and separation: when courts revisit settlements, the finality problem, and drafting full and final terms that hold.

Prenups Before Marriage to a Farm or Business Owner: A Practical Guide

Preparing a prenuptial agreement in Ireland where one party owns a farm or company: disclosure, independent advice, timing, review clauses and realistic expectations.