An Irish farmer and engineer helped a neighbor for over 15 years with farm work, documentation for the Department of Agriculture, and cattle-related tasks. The two men were neighbors, friends, and had contiguous farms. The farmer stated in court that this collaboration was not merely out of friendship, but because the neighbor had promised him, on several occasions, that the land would eventually go to him.
When the property owner died in August 2020, the will brought a surprise: the land was left to the three sons of his partner, with whom the deceased had been living. The farmer who had helped for over a decade received only €5,000, and was also named one of the estate executors.
In December 2020, after the neighbor's death, the farmer wrote to the lawyer handling the estate to state that he intended to claim the land. However, he did not formally file a lawsuit within the legally required timeframe.
Irish law establishes a general limit of two years after death for this type of inheritance-related claims. When the man eventually presented his claim in court, this deadline had already passed, so the court rejected the claim, leaving him without the land he said had been promised to him.
