Can I decline this gift in will?

[NewQpt]

My dad had a will written about 3 years ago where all his assets (family home, cash and pension) went to my mum upon his death. He passed away 18 months ago.

When my mum passes away, the will states everything is to be shared equally between myself and my two siblings.

For personal reasons, I may decide to decline interest in the family house part of the gift but happy to receive my share of everything else. Will I simply be able to disclaim it at the time of my mum's death even though the will was written over two years ago?

Thank you

Yes! Council tax for a start. And it would affect your mortgage options, I think - you will class as a second home owner.

Are there gift tax implications for the inheriting sibling if you decline your share of the property willed to you and the sibling then inherits the full property?

Rather than declining your interest in the house your siblings should buy you out.

If they’re not able to do that then the house will need to be sold.

But you would be silly to decline a 3rd of the value of a house just because the will states that it shouldn’t be sold. Once the person is dead they lose the right to dictate what happens to the house, and even if it’s not sold now, it’s highly unlikely that the house would remain in the family forever.

Is it a very valuable house

if it’s not specified in the will that your sister has a right to remain in the property, then as I understand it, she would be expected to buy out the other two siblings unless you all agree to let her live there. (and this assumes the property doesn’t have to be sold to cover inheritance tax).

wait and see what happens, the house might have already had to be sold if your mum needs care, or your sister may have moved out.

But be clear you would like the money from your share of the house, if your sister has to get a mortgage to buy you and your other sibling out, she may prefer to sell up and buy somewhere smaller.

This.

Also, depending on the value of the estate, will you and your siblings be able to afford any inheritance tax due without selling the house?

Again this. Listen to it.

you are, understandably, worrying about something that is very unlikely to happen.

firstly, your mum could outlive everyone, who knows.

secondly, you cannot be forced to jointly own a property with anyone.

i really wouldn’t worry about it at this stage, certainly don’t be trying to vary anything.

your mum wants her estate divided three ways. That’s the basic thing. If one wants the house, they buy your share or sell it.

There is nothing to decline at present: your Dad left everything to your Mum, it all belongs to her, so no deadline is relevant until such a time as your Mum passes.

And things could be very different then.

Is it likely that your Mum’s estate, including the value of the house , would be more than £1m?

Currently the IHT threshold for an estate which has accumulated the tax free amount from the first spouse is £1m if the primary residence is passed to direct descendants. Anything over that value is taxed at 40%. So would need to be paid from any remaining cash savings if the house is worth more than £1m. Or even if it is the total amount of house plus savings, the cash part, of which you would be a joint beneficiary, would be used to pay any IHT due.

So as well as relinquishing your share of the house you and your other sibling would be paying for the tax due out of the other inheritance.

It is understandable that you wouldn’t want to evict a vulnerable sibling, or charge them rent for your portion of the house, or have responsibility for the upkeep of a house you get no benefit from.

Would your sibling want to stay living there? Would there be enough for them to buy a smaller place from their share?

Anyway, you can simply decline an inheritance, or do a Deed of Variation which is not a complicated thing to do.

Why on earth would you disclaim it?

Why would you do anything irrevocable after your mum has passed?

Just own 1/3 of it and let sibling live in it. See what happens in 20-30-40 years’ time. Do you have DC?

Are you worried about council tax and utilities? Your sibling will need to enter into a lease to live in a house owned by someone else, so make paying bills part of the lease. Or, ask her to buy you out if she doesn’t want you as a landlord.

I find it bizarre that so many people are challenging you on this. You've clearly thought it through, it get legal advice and talk through the various scenarios with a lawyer. I'm sure it will be fairly straightforward