Inheritance tax

smurfy17

Does the £100,000 nil rate band on property gifted to direct descendants apply when there is no will (the assets of the deceased will automatically pass to the deceased’s children as there is no surviving spouse) or does something formal have to be done before death to gift the property to the children?

xylophone

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/inheritance-tax-residence-nil-rate-band#direct-decs


Once you've decided that the home qualifies for the additional threshold, there are rules about how the direct descendants inherit a home. It must be left to them:

in the will of the person that's died
under the rules of intestacy
by some other legal means
The home doesn't have to be specifically mentioned in the person's will. It can be inherited as part of what's left of the estate (the residue) after specific legacies have been taken into account.

But life would be easier for the bereaved if the owners of the property made a will?