Deed of variation for will

sanfly

I have recently inherited some money from my Aunt and want to redirect some of the money to children and grandchildren using a deed of variation.

My question relates to my grandchildren who are under 18 years old, are there any restrictions / problems in leaving money to under 18's using a deed of variation?

SevenOfNine

May I ask how much you are talking about for the grandchildren? We are currently moving forward with a DoV (well, we would be if we didn't have a totally moronic STEP lawyer - a supposed 'specialist', so don't be bowled over by any suggestion to use one of those).

We are talking of £50k to both grandsons, & no way do we want them to have access unchecked at 18! So our DoV will be accompanied by a Discretionary Trust, with nominated trustees, then there will be investment to consider & annual tax declarations. Some might consider all that to be a pitfall!

I'm afraid your question isn't as simple as you think, too many variables without more information.

abby1234519

SevenOfNine wrote: »

May I ask how much you are talking about for the grandchildren? We are currently moving forward with a DoV (well, we would be if we didn't have a totally moronic STEP lawyer - a supposed 'specialist', so don't be bowled over by any suggestion to use one of those).

We are talking of £50k to both grandsons, & no way do we want them to have access unchecked at 18! So our DoV will be accompanied by a Discretionary Trust, with nominated trustees, then there will be investment to consider & annual tax declarations. Some might consider all that to be a pitfall!

I'm afraid your question isn't as simple as you think, too many variables without more information.

I was under the impression that even if you put it in trust, as an adult at 18 they could access it if they wanted to.

Some people put it in trust till 25 for example, but really - it doesn't matter. If they want to access it they are legally allowed to

Yorkshireman99

abby1234519 wrote: »

I was under the impression that even if you put it in trust, as an adult at 18 they could access it if they wanted to.

Some people put it in trust till 25 for example, but really - it doesn't matter. If they want to access it they are legally allowed to

A discretionary trust circumvents the 18 rule but the costs are high. Abby has been unfortunate with the STEP member and should report him.

SevenOfNine

abby1234519 wrote: »

I was under the impression that even if you put it in trust, as an adult at 18 they could access it if they wanted to.

Some people put it in trust till 25 for example, but really - it doesn't matter. If they want to access it they are legally allowed to

Thankfully, you'd be completely wrong - for a discretionary trust correctly written anyway. Though I believe that's the case for a Bare Trust (can't say for any other type). All trusts are not necessarily alike.

Absolutely correct YB99, the tax is high. Not too worried about additional costs, we will be administering it ourselves, preparing accounts & completing tax returns so no charges there. The 'diversifying' bit is a trifle scary, but not sure (yet) who will 'check' how we're investing the capital or whether it's diverse enough.

Since our meeting with the STEP solicitor a month ago, we haven't heard a peep from him. Not even a cursory response to an email I sent clarifying some points. We think he has not 'taken instruction' from us (for want of a better way of putting it), merely set out his stall with a ballpark figure of £500 costs.

We're going to move on to a different company. It will be another STEP solicitor so better luck next time hopefully.

abby1234519

SevenOfNine wrote: »

Thankfully, you'd be completely wrong - for a discretionary trust correctly written anyway. Though I believe that's the case for a Bare Trust (can't say for any other type). All trusts are not necessarily alike.

Absolutely correct YB99, the tax is high. Not too worried about additional costs, we will be administering it ourselves, preparing accounts & completing tax returns so no charges there. The 'diversifying' bit is a trifle scary, but not sure (yet) who will 'check' how we're investing the capital or whether it's diverse enough.

Since our meeting with the STEP solicitor a month ago, we haven't heard a peep from him. Not even a cursory response to an email I sent clarifying some points. We think he has not 'taken instruction' from us (for want of a better way of putting it), merely set out his stall with a ballpark figure of £500 costs.

We're going to move on to a different company. It will be another STEP solicitor so better luck next time hopefully.

Was the Bare Trust I was thinking of, my other grandmother was considering setting a trust up a few years back for my siblings and myself but didn't do it because she was advised we could still access it at 18. But perhaps she was given the alternative and due to the costs decided not to

TBagpuss

OP, you need some proper advice but there is no reason you can't use a deed of variation to give money to under 18s. You may be thinking of the fact that if one of the existing beneficiaries who would 'lose out' were under 18 they cannot consent to a deed of variation, but if you are the beneficiary then that would be fine!