How can I settle my mother’s will?

I have not seen my 29-year-old niece since 2000 when her father was released from prison for killing his wife – my sister. In her will, my mother left some things to my niece but I am not allowed to contact her. If I do, I have been told that I could be charged with harassment and go to jail. I have received a copy of an email sent to our previous TD from my niece’s stepmother saying that my niece never wants to see me or anyone from my side of the family again. I am resigned to that, though I would have liked to have told her about her mother and how much she loved her. I am 73 and concerned that this will not be settled in my lifetime. How tragic that your sister was murdered by her husband. It sounds as though it was devastating for you. It must be even more difficult that your niece wants nothing to do with you. I can only assume that somehow her father’s side of the family has turned her against you. It is hard to believe that any woman could marry a man who had murdered his first wife, as your niece’s stepmother has done. As your previous TD has her email address, you could perhaps ask him or her to message your niece about her inheritance. Get in touch with a lawyer via the Law Society of Ireland (lawsociety.ie), which helps people search for contact details of practising solicitors and firms. It would not be harassment if they wrote on your behalf. If this fails, leave her the items in your will and say that your mother wanted her to have them.