Inheritance Tax
Inheritance Tax can be a complicated subject. Below you will find some information you might find useful.
On the 9th October 2007 the rules affecting married couples, civil partners, widows and widowers changed. For information about this or any other aspect of Inheritance tax see below or phone us on 020 8945 0323
Introduction
Part 1
Inheritance Tax | Exemptions | Potentially Exempt Transfers, Gifts With a Reservation
and Capital Gains Tax | Life assurance and pension policies
Part 2
Subsequent claims against your estate
Part 3
Deeds of variation
Part 4
Reducing Inheritance Tax
Part 3
Deeds of Variation
It is possible, following a person's death, for the beneficiaries of the estate to vary their entitlement. In other words. agree to “rewrite “ the Will.
To do this they need to be over the age of eighteen and have satisfied all conditions (if any) imposed on the gift to them. It can be difficult to carry out a Deed of Variation where assets are left in trust.
The most common use of Deeds of Variation is to correct problems arising from the will itself. For example, there might be a gift to a child about to get divorced. Rather than risk that gift caught up in the divorce settlement and being split with the outgoing spouse, a Deed of Variation could protect it by putting it into a Trust instead.
The same can be done if a beneficiary has too many debts or is unable to manage their own affairs for some reason.
1) Deeds of Variation have to be made within two years of the date of death
2) You cannot always rely on beneficiaries agreeing to carry out a variation following death. Conversely, if there is any concern that beneficiaries could carry out a variation and you wish to prevent them doing so, this could be done by careful Will drafting.
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