Death rarely leaves a family's affairs neatly arranged. A will may be out of date, divide assets unfairly, or carry a heavier tax bill than necessary. Post-death variations let beneficiaries rearrange how an estate is shared out after the death has happened — redirecting gifts to other people, into trusts, or refusing them altogether. For a solicitor advising bereaved clients, this is everyday, high-value work: done well, it can save substantial tax and reflect what the family actually needs.
This lesson takes you through the two main tools and the tax rules that make them powerful.
- Mechanisms and Their Effects — what post-death variations are, and how a deed of variation lets a beneficiary redirect all or part of a gift to anyone they choose.
- Disclaimers and Distinctions — how a disclaimer works as an all-or-nothing refusal, where the property goes, and how it differs from a deed of variation.
- Reading-Back: IHT Conditions — how a variation can be treated as the deceased's own gift for inheritance tax, and the strict conditions that must be met.
- Reading-Back: CGT Conditions — the separate requirements for capital gains tax reading-back and the election needed to claim it.
By the end, you'll know which tool to reach for and how to secure the tax treatment your client wants.