A beneficiary can redirect an inheritance so that, for tax purposes, it is treated as though the deceased had left it that way. It is the only realistic post-death planning tool there is.
Estate planning is normally something done in advance, and once someone has died the opportunities are largely gone. The deed of variation is the exception. It allows a beneficiary to give up or redirect what they were left, and where the statutory conditions are met the redirection is read back for inheritance tax and capital gains tax purposes as though the deceased had made it.
That reading-back is the entire point. Without it, a beneficiary passing an inheritance on would simply be making a gift from their own estate, with all the consequences that follow.
What It Is Used For
- Skipping a generation. An adult child who does not need the money redirects it to their own children, keeping it out of their estate entirely.
- Correcting an outdated will that was written before a divorce, a remarriage, or the birth of grandchildren.
- Equalising between beneficiaries where the will produced an outcome the family regards as wrong.
- Redirecting to charity, which can reduce the inheritance tax on the estate as a whole.
- Creating a trust out of an inheritance, where an outright gift would be unsuitable — see discretionary trusts.
- Making full use of a nil rate band that the will left partly unused.
The window is strict and it runs from the date of death. There is a statutory period within which a variation must be made for the reading-back to apply, and it cannot be extended for good reasons or bad ones. Where a variation is being considered, establish the deadline with a solicitor at the outset — several months can disappear into probate before anyone starts thinking about it.
The Conditions
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| In writing | A formal deed, properly executed |
| Within the statutory window | Measured from the date of death |
| Signed by everyone affected | Anyone giving something up must agree |
| Contains the right statements | Specific elections must be included for the reading-back to apply |
| No payment for it | Consideration outside the estate defeats the treatment |
The last two catch people out. The deed must contain express statements electing for the treatment to apply, for inheritance tax and capital gains tax separately, and a variation done informally or without those statements does not work. And a variation given in exchange for something else — money, a promise, an asset outside the estate — falls outside the relief.
What It Cannot Do
- It cannot redirect what someone else was left. Only the beneficiary of a gift can vary it.
- It cannot change income tax already suffered. The reading-back applies to inheritance tax and capital gains tax, not to income arising in the meantime.
- It cannot be done by someone who lacks capacity, and where minors or unborn beneficiaries are affected, court approval may be required.
- It cannot bring back an estate that has been distributed and spent. Practically, it needs to happen while the estate is being administered.
- It is not a way of avoiding a debt or a claim, and attempting to use it that way invites challenge.
Intestacy Counts Too
The same mechanism applies where there was no will and the intestacy rules decided who inherits. Those rules are fixed, take no account of the family's circumstances, and frequently produce outcomes nobody wanted — a surviving cohabiting partner receiving nothing being the most common. A variation is often the only fix available, which is a reason for families to take advice quickly after a death rather than waiting until probate concludes.
Get It Drafted Properly
This is legal work with a hard deadline and specific formal requirements, and the cost of getting it wrong is that the redirection is treated as a gift from the beneficiary rather than from the deceased. That can bring the amount back into the beneficiary's estate for years and defeat the entire purpose. A solicitor doing probate work will handle it routinely; a template downloaded from the internet is a poor substitute. Anyone with assets or beneficiaries abroad should also read wills and succession when you live abroad, because a variation valid here may have no effect on foreign property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a will really be changed after someone has died?
Not the will itself, but a beneficiary can redirect what they inherited, and where the conditions are met it is read back for inheritance tax and capital gains tax as though the deceased had left it that way.
How long do I have to make a variation?
There is a strict statutory window running from the date of death, and it cannot be extended. Establish the deadline with a solicitor early, because probate can absorb several months before anyone considers it.
Do all the beneficiaries have to agree?
Everyone whose entitlement is affected must sign. You cannot vary someone else's inheritance, only your own, and where minors or unborn beneficiaries are involved court approval may be needed.
Does it work where there was no will?
Yes. The same mechanism applies to an inheritance arising under the intestacy rules, which is often the only way to correct outcomes those rules produce.
Related Guides
Keep reading with these related guides and calculators:
- Discretionary trusts — what a variation can create
- Inheritance tax — the charge being planned around
- Wills and succession — foreign assets and forced heirship
- Family investment companies — lifetime planning instead
- Inheritance tax planning — what to do in advance
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