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Deeds of Variation and Disclaimers

Just because a person is named as a beneficiary in a will does not mean that he has to take the gift left to him in the will. The law recognises that it is open to a beneficiary to vary the will in order to give the gift to someone else, or to disclaim the gift altogether.

We have wide experience of advising on deeds of variation (sometimes called deeds of family arrangement) and disclaimers in a wide variety of circumstances, including -

• To give effect to the known wishes of the deceased which the deceased failed to carry out in his will.
• To include extra legacies to friends and family.
• To achieve a more equitable distribution of the estate between family members.
• To vary the distribution of an estate under the intestacy rules.
• To vary the distribution of jointly owned assets.
• To resolve disputes between beneficiaries.

We also advise on setting up deeds of variation to achieve inheritance tax saving not just on the deceased’s estate but also for the benefit of the beneficiary's estate.

For example, we advise on deeds of variation -

• To insert tax-saving nil rate band discretionary trusts into a deceased spouse's will.
• To divert assets away from a beneficiary into a discretionary trust to prevent the assets being taxed on the beneficiary's death.
• To settle foreign property owned by a non-UK domiciled deceased in an inheritance tax-free 'excluded property' settlement.
• To shelter agriculture and business property in trust to avoid losing agriculture property relief or business property relief by reason of a beneficiary dying soon after the deceased.

We advise on the tax consequences of deeds of variation, including the need to make the deeds within the two year time limit post death and include the required elections to ensure that the deeds are read back into the deceased’s will for the purposes of those taxes.

For further information please click here to contact Charles Hayward.