Inheritance for the kids

[Gonzo33]

My Nan's cousin died last year and my Nan is set to inherit some money. She is also an executor of the will. She is proposing to give my children (her great grandchildren) a sum of money.

What she wants to know is is she better off sending it as a payment as the executor of the will or just as a great grandparent? She does not know how much it is likely to be presently (they are trying to sell the house at the moment) but doesn't think it will be more than 1k each.

I think she has to pay out to beneficiaries according to the will. However there is a way to do this using a legal document called a deed of variation. But i think she will need all beneficiaries to agree.

She could do a deed of variation, but if she is just giving them some of her share then its probably simpler to just do that after the event - AFAIK you can make gifts of up to £3K total per year with no tax consequences. The lawyer would doubtless want something for doing the deed of variation

Depends how much it is really, and whether either of the estates (the cousin's or your nan's) will be taxable. If neither will be, she should ignore the deed of variation, but if the cousin's isn't taxable, but your nan's will be, work out how much tax you'll save by doing the deed of variation and decide if it's worthwhile paying for the deed to be drawn up.

Thanks. Nan is only inheriting a small amount from the estate (5%) which is not anywhere the inheritance tax threshold. Should my Nan pass in the next 7 years I don't believe her estate would be over the inheritance tax threshold either. My granddad and her have the house as tenants in common and the value of 50% of the property and 50% of their savings is willed to my Mum anyway.