Can Executors modify a will?

Robin50

Hi everyone, not exactly a newbie, but I've rejoined today after a long break.

I guess the answer to my question is no, but all you knowledgable folks might be able to give me some sound advice.

My mum died last week at the grand age of 103. My sister and I are the executors of her will and are the main beneficiaries, but the 4 grandchildren (2 on each side) also take a share. The estate is very simple, just a couple of savings accounts, no IHT due although probate might be necessary if the banks take a strict line on their rules.

The thing is: both my sister and I would be happy for the grandchildren to have a bigger share, and for us to have less. (They are all grown-up now with children of their own).

Can we 'officially' change the will to benefit the grandchildren more? Is that going to be expensive and more trouble than it's worth?

There's nothing to stop us simply paying more to the grandchildren but are there are pitfalls if we do that?

If I understand correctly there is no official oversight - we don't have to report accounts of how we actually executed the will to anyone, do we? So the only problem might arise because of the 'extra' money for the grandchildren being interpreted as taxable income by HMRC and as 'gifts' for IHT if either my sister or I were to die soon. Is that right?

Any comments or advice much appreciated, thanks.

getmore4less

executors can't change a will.

beneficiaries can gift in a tax efficient way using DOV,
(does what you want).

You can just gift the money and they will be PETS on your estates.

there is no tax on gifts.

Robin50

Thank you, that's really helpful. I didn't know about DOVs (Deeds of Variation) - as you say, that will do what we want. I need to clamber up the learning curve on this but at first glance it doesn't look too complicated.

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]A solicitor will probably charge 1-2 hours work for a simple DOV and maybe a discount if you and your sister get them prepared at the same time. Or you can try using one of the online suppliers who say they specialise in that sort of thing.[/FONT]

Keep_pedalling

Whether you and your sister need to do a DoV depends on your own tax situation. If neither of your are likely to be subject to IHT then you can simply gift the money to your children.

Robin50

Thank you, KeepPedalling ... I was under the impression that gifts to our children by my sister and I would be taxable (for them, under income tax rules) above a certain threshold. But after today's replies and more reading it seems our children wouldn't have to pay any tax on parental gifts. I need to double-check the IHT angle which will be different for my sister and I.

Yorkshireman99

What sort of sums are we talking of?

Keep_pedalling

Robin50 wrote: »

Thank you, KeepPedalling ... I was under the impression that gifts to our children by my sister and I would be taxable (for them, under income tax rules) above a certain threshold. But after today's replies and more reading it seems our children wouldn't have to pay any tax on parental gifts. I need to double-check the IHT angle which will be different for my sister and I.

There is no gift tax in the UK, although if you gift over your £3000 annual allowance then the amount over that remains in your estate for 7 years for IHT purposes. If you are married and own your house your joint net worth would need to be over £850,000 to have to worry about IHT and this will rise to £1M by April 2020.

If on the other hand your sister is single with no children her estate would fall into IHT territory at £325,000 as she would not be able to use the primary residence nil rate band.

If the sum you are talking about is small enough you may be able to pass the lot using your annual allowances, including carrying over any unused allowance from the previous financial year. How much are we talking about here?

getmore4less

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

There is no gift tax in the UK, although if you gift over your £3000 annual allowance then the amount over that remains in your estate for 7 years for IHT purposes. If you are married and own your house your joint net worth would need to be over £850,000 to have to worry about IHT and this will rise to £1M by April 2020.

If on the other hand your sister is single with no children her estate would fall into IHT territory at £325,000 as she would not be able to use the primary residence nil rate band.

If the sum you are talking about is small enough you may be able to pass the lot using your annual allowances, including carrying over any unused allowance from the previous financial year. How much are we talking about here?

The issue is the combined allowances only come into play after the first person dies, if the OP and sis gift then they have a PET sitting on their estate that will use up some of their nil rate band as there are no exemptions.

It could be that having a lingering PET is best avoided

There are some clues

My mum died last week at the grand age of 103
4 grandchildren (2 on each side)
They are all grown-up now with children of their own

Would not surprise me if the OP/sis are over 70, with the grand kids over 40 and greatgrandkids already adults or close.

some multigenerational IHT planning may be in order maybe consder skipping 2 generations.

Keep_pedalling

getmore4less wrote: »

The issue is the combined allowances only come into play after the first person dies, if the OP and sis gift then they have a PET sitting on their estate that will use up some of their nil rate band as there are no exemptions.

It could be that having a lingering PET is best avoided

There are some clues



Would not surprise me if the OP/sis are over 70, with the grand kids over 40 and greatgrandkids already adults or close.

some multigenerational IHT planning may be in order maybe consder skipping 2 generations.

Although if they have inherited their mother’s longevity genes they may have a good few decades to go yet

Robin50

KeepPedalling, and others ... thank you for your comments. Been a bit hectic today so haven't had a chance to respond.

Definitely hope to have inherited long life genes! Yes we are around 70 but all the generations have tended to have children later in life, so grtgrndchildren are still infants or young children.

Having looked in a bit more detail at DOVs, I am now certain that that's the route to go. For simple cases (and it turns out my case is quite common: parents wanting to shift the balance in favour of their children) it looks like something that is doable at low cost, or DIY. There's guidance on Govt websites and the timings also appeal.

I don't want to be specific about figures, but let's the estate doesn't reach IHT threshold but does mean we'll have to get probate.

But to reiterate, I think I've found the solution I was looking for, so thank you all for your kind and helpful comments.