Deed of Gift or not - re DC house deposit.

[BasiliskStare]

I wonder if anyone has experience of this.

DH and I are giving some money to DS for a deposit on a flat ( purchase). We have signed a document with the mortgage lender to say the amount is a gift not a loan. We did speak to a solicitor who said we ought to have a Deed of gift drawn up. Clearly at a cost. The amount we are giving DS is not millions

I'm wondering if we have signed the mortgage document and if we and DS keep bank records of when this money was transferred will that be enough for IHT purposes should DH & I shuffle off this mortal coil before 7 years.

So I have spoken to a solicitor they advise a Deed of gift - but I am not just quite clear on how proper records of the amount being transferred would not be sufficient evidence of the date of the gift.

Any advice welcome

I gave money to my son for a deposit.

i didn’t make a deed of gift and no-one mentioned it.

Just write a letter to your son explaining the gift, post it to him, and tell him to keep the letter.

He will then have written proof of the gift.

Thank you both. I appreciate it.

I was thinking if we had a print out of the bank transfer , dated , and so did he - surely that would be proof enough.

I like the idea of a letter - a bit like ( I hink) when people would send a copy of a manuscript to themselves and not open it so it had a postmark on it as proof they had written it and it wasn't stolen by an agent ( or is that an urban legend?

I’ve looked into recently and usually a signed statement and transfer would be completely fine. Deeds of gifts are not common.

We record all financial gifts to our kids and have never done a Deed of Gift. We can easily demonstrate where any monies have come from and that the kids have received the money.

We've given money to our children for deposits & noone has ever suggested a deed of gift. If the money can be traced it's not a problem.

Write a formal letter on your computer saying “I gift xx amount to DC on this date with no strings attached “. Print and sign. Give dc a copy and keep a copy. That is enough to document the gift.

I was gifted a deposit by a relative many moons ago and there was no deed of gift. This relative loved throwing money at lawyers so if there was event a hint of one being needed I’m sure we’d have had one!

Thank you all !
We've filled out one form from the mortgage lender to say it is a gift which will be dated & and have another one to do from DS's solicitor to show where the gift funds are coming from and the amount and there is a document we get as a result of this. . I'm normally cautious about these sorts of things , but if DS and we keep a record / printout of these, plus DS and we keep a record of the bank transfer that surely will be enough - but thank you @parietal and @Mosaic123 the letter sounds a good idea as well. I don't want to be penny wise and pound foolish but the solicitor is quoting £1500 plus VAT for this deed & I wonder if they are just being (chargeable) belt and braces. I suppose, and posts here have confirmed , I just wondered if they had seen me coming .

Thank you again

Just to add to my post above - to be fair to the solicitor she said they would recommend a Deed of Gift - not that we had to have one , so I think my "seen me coming " comment is a bit out of order. The £1500 did also did include a consultation. Anyway - just to say I am not against lawyers at all , but I am inclined towards this deed not being necessary.