Deed of Variation, Inheritance Tax, Estate Planning
Inheritance Tax, Wills, Making of a Will and Tax Planning Practitioners
Probate, Wills and Probate, Inheritance Tax, Secure Storage of Documents
Will Writers, Last Will and Testament, Inheritance Tax and Law, Financial Plan
How to Write a Will, Inheritance Law, Probate, Wills Secure Storage - Heritage Law
Inheritance Planning Tax and Law, No Last Will and Testament, Check Liability
Wills, Writing a Will, Making a Will, Updating a Will, Free Reminder Service
Writing a Will Consultants, Somerset Wills, South West UK, Legal Document
Free Wills Probate Consultation, Gloucestershire Wills Contact Heritage Law
Wills, Inheritance Tax, Probate, Tax Planning Glossary of Terms
Inheritance Tax, Society of Will Writers and Estate Planning Practitoners - Heritage Law
 
 

Deed of Variation, Inheritance Tax and Estate Planning

A 'Deed of Variation' allows the beneficiaries of a Will to change its contents after the death of the individual concerned.

The Deed of Variation must be affected within two years of the death of the individual and although extremely useful should not be relied upon as part of an individual's estate planning. It may be that the Government in the future reduces the effectiveness of this tool. Currently, however, it offers the Personal Representatives an effective way of changing a Will after death.

All the beneficiaries of the Will must agree. If minors are involved this is further complicated as they cannot themselves consent to the changes and an application must be made to the courts for consent to be obtained on their behalf.

The Deed itself must contain a statement that the variation has an effect for Inheritance Tax as if the deceased had made the changes prior to death. All parties must sign the statement and where there is additional tax; the Personal Representatives must sign the liability. The only instance where they can refuse is if there are insufficient assets available to pay the tax.

A Deed of Variation is not necessarily used to reduce an Inheritance Tax liability on the deceased's estate. If the assets are passed to an individual who may already have an Inheritance Tax problem themselves they could elect to have the assets passed to their children instead, thereby reducing their estate. If this is the case the individual who has forgone the legacy is not deemed to have made the gift (thus avoiding the seven year rule) but instead it is the deceased who is deemed to have made the transfer.