Lost RNRB Tax Relief due to Will

[LostRNRBTaxRelief]

I think DM may have made a terrible mistake. Her will states that her house is left to "Executors upon Trust" to sell and the proceeds left to children and grandchildren

Does this mean that we cannot claim the £175k of RNRB because it has not been left "directly" to descendents"

Does it make any difference that the executors are also direct descendents? Would that count??

Ugh..... will written without a solicitor or tax advice..... I know!!!!

Gosh that's tricky if all the beneficiaries agree you can always get a deed of variation to agree it passes directly to the descendants.

if all the beneficiaries agree

The trouble we found with a deed of variation was that the way the will was worded, some of the beneficiaries were children.

Only adult beneficiaries were deemed to be able to give consent to a deed of variation

"On trust" in this context is saying that the executors are looking after it for the children and grandchildren - it is a "bare trust" where the executors don't have any discretion about who gets what - they have no choice but to hand over the money. This doesn't affect the RNRB. The only potential issue might be if there are age contingencies (particularly 're grandchildren) where about when the children can get the money but this can be dealt with by a deed of appointment if necessary.

Unless there is something further down the will that creates a more complicated trust, the wording you've posted is very, very standard and completely compatible with the RNRB. HMRC won't bat an eyelid.

@FloraPostIt

"On trust" in this context is saying that the executors are looking after it for the children and grandchildren - it is a "bare trust" where the executors don't have any discretion about who gets what - they have no choice but to hand over the money. This doesn't affect the RNRB. The only potential issue might be if there are age contingencies (particularly 're grandchildren) where about when the children can get the money but this can be dealt with by a deed of appointment if necessary.

Unless there is something further down the will that creates a more complicated trust, the wording you've posted is very, very standard and completely compatible with the RNRB. HMRC won't bat an eyelid.

Thank you for confirming this. I have found a local neighbour who is a lawyer if we need her, but hopefully, as you have confirmed, we won't. One of the grandchildren is under 18, but only briefly, 18 in a couple of weeks, and the house isn't sold yet, so hopefully this will not be an issue either.