Will/deed of variation

[WorriedDaughter12]

In a deed of variation to give money to someone not named in an original will, do both the original beneficiary named in the will and the new beneficiary not previously named have to sign the deed. Or just the original beneficiary? Thank you

I have been looking at this since my Mum died and left me an inheritence that I was not expecting. I worked hard during my 50’s to plan for retirement and did not factor any inheritence. So I’m thinking of giving the money to my three children, age 40, 37 and 36 who could use the extra help. As far as I am aware, it’s only me who needs to set up the deed of variation, my children do not need to be involved.

However, I’ve decided to gift them some money each year for birthdays and Christmas instead, kind of like a drip feed rather than 1/3 all in one go. This is mainly because of the complications with one of my children living in the US and after a toxic divorce being be cleared bankrupt and having to foreclose on his house.

I will seek legal advice again in a couple of years, hopefully I will live long enough to give away most if not all of my inheritance!

Just the original beneficiary. If this alters the tax position for the estate, the executors also need to sign.

A deed of variation (if that's the route you choose) needs to be done within two years of the date of death.

Take care if someone is relying on means-tested benefits, they can't really refuse or vary an inheritance, as it is viewed as deprivation of capital. I obviously have no knowledge of the specific situation here, but it's a thing to bear in mind in general.