By Isobel Fensome

Solicitor

17 July 2025

Insights News

Post-death variations are a useful tool for a range of tax-planning purposes, such as to reduce the value of a beneficiary’s own estate (without making a lifetime gift), to acquire the residence nil-rate band in a deceased’s estate by redirecting a property, or even to benefit from the reduced rate of inheritance tax (the ‘charity exemption’) by redirecting a share of the estate to charity.

A variation may also be useful to resolve disputes among family members regarding the distribution of the estate, or to reflect the testator’s true wishes prior to their death.

Provided certain conditions are met, a variation can be ‘read back’ into the testator’s Will for inheritance tax and capital gains tax purposes (but not income tax purposes). This means the variation may be treated as if the testator had included it in their Will at the time it was drafted.

Who can make a variation?

Anybody over the age of 18 who has received an outright gift under a Will or intestacy can vary their interest. This is not limited to liquid assets and can extend to assets such as jewellery or property.

For a variation to be effective, any conditions attached to the original gift in the Will must have been met. For example, if the gift was to be received upon turning 21, then the beneficiary who wishes to vary their share must have met this stipulation.

When can you make a variation?

In order to benefit from the reading back effect for inheritance tax and capital gains tax purposes, the variation must be made within two years of the death of the testator.

The variation can be made before or after a Grant of Probate has been obtained, and before or after the asset has been transferred to the original beneficiary.

Who needs to be involved?

Anybody who loses a benefit from the estate must be party to the variation. Usually, this will simply be the person who is redirecting their own share or gift from the estate.

If the redirection results in more inheritance tax becoming payable (such as if a spouse redirects their share to their children, losing the spouse exemption over that portion of the estate), the personal representatives (the administrators or executors) must also be a party to the document.

If the variation has been used to benefit from the reduced rate of inheritance tax (the charity exemption), the variation will only be read back if the charity has been notified of the variation.

How do you make a variation?

In order to receive retrospective treatment for inheritance tax and capital gains tax, there are several requirements in addition to the above.  

The variation must be made in writing, with the relevant parties being involved (or notified, in the case of a charity).

The variation must not be made for any consideration in money or money’s worth, other than the making of a variation/disclaimer in the same estate.

It is only possible to achieve the reading back effect for the same gift or property once, so it is important to ensure the variation is completed correctly first time. We can advise you about this and assist you with drafting a Deed of Variation.

If you have any questions regarding post-death variations or would like to discuss any other aspects of this article, please do not hesitate to contact us here.

Disclaimer: General Information Provided Only
Please note that the contents of this article are intended solely for general information purposes and should not be considered as legal advice. We cannot be held responsible for any loss resulting from actions or inactions taken based on this article.