deed of variation wording

Lottierose

My mother recently passed away. For as long as I can remember, she told me and my brother she would leave her estate (her property and a small amount of savings) to myself and my brother, to be split 50/50. She also stated that in the event of either of us predeceasing her, our individual share would be then split between our children, rather than the surviving sibling inheriting the whole estate. 
It seems that she used a will writing company and the discussions  were done over the phone and she did not make her wishes clear. In the will she names the grandchildren with the proviso that ' no one shall take a share as long as their parent is alive' . Unfortunately she didn't actually name myself and my brother and obviously thought this last line was sufficient. 
Luckily all the grandchildren (all adults) agree and have said they are happy to sign a deed of variation returning the estate to be split between my brother and me. 

Having done a bit of research it appears that a deed of variation doesn't necessarily have to be a legal document and that 'a letter' will be OK as long as it meets certain conditions. These conditions seem to apply mainly to inheritance tax, which will not apply as the total value of her estate is well below the £325,000 threshold.  

I was a little concerned about this and approached a solicitor to find out how much they would charge. I have had a couple of estimates ranging from £500 to £800 which seems excessive. However I am unable to find any examples of a deed of variation to a will which I could adapt. 

Has anyone ever done a DOV themselves or would it be better to use a solicitor to avoid any questions in the future?  

Thank you

castle96

Solicitor charged my sister £600. Wish I had kept a copy as I now wish to give my sons a further amount (IHT would apply on my death). If you find a 'proper' wording, please post it (or PM me please)

relaxtwotribes

Why not ask the solicitor to prepare your own will and do the DOV inclusive?

Lottierose

I already have a will in place which leaves everything to my children therefore anything I inherit from my mother would simply be added to my estate.
So all I really need from a solicitor would be the DOV. 

relaxtwotribes

£500 doesn't seem too much over the top.  The work you will be asking is somewhat akin to redrafting a poorly worded will.
You will have to balance the cost against the possibilty that one or more of the grandchildren change their mind(s) at some point and challenge the DIY DOV.  The solicitor's cost will include his professional indemnity insrance.

xylophone

https://www.legalo.co.uk/guides/guide-to-our-deed-of-variation-for-will-template/
Worth considering?

castle96

Advice on my circs pl. Father died a year ago. Sister was Exec, we were joint 50/50 beneficiaries. 'We' did a DofV to give each of my sons the same amount. I want to give them more now. Do I have to get sisters agreement (she will not be affected in any way). The only reason for me 'needing' a DofV is for IHT reasons. Anyone used the template above ? Certainly £49 better than £5-600 for some greedy solicitor ! (But will it 'work' on my death within 7 yrs)

SevenOfNine

OP, three years we used a STEP registered solicitor to do a DoV, diverting a £100k inheritance to our grandsons, the cost was about £450 & we considered that to be a drop in the ocean to ensure it was done correctly & watertight.

This might give a bit of guidance if you really must DiY  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inheritance-tax-instrument-of-variation-checklist-iov2

I believe there is some specific wording which must be included & I will put it word for word from the DoV here, but I'm happy to be corrected.

The parties to this deed intend that the provisions of section 142(1) Inheritance Tax Act and section 62(6) Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 shall apply to the variation made by this Deed.

castle96

CAN you do a 2nd, or indeed 3rd DofV

Mojisola

castle96 said:

Sister was Exec, we were joint 50/50 beneficiaries. 'We' did a DofV to give each of my sons the same amount. I want to give them more now. Do I have to get sisters agreement (she will not be affected in any way).

No, only affected beneficiaries have to agree to it.

Lottierose

SevenOfNine said:

OP, three years we used a STEP registered solicitor to do a DoV, diverting a £100k inheritance to our grandsons, the cost was about £450 & we considered that to be a drop in the ocean to ensure it was done correctly & watertight.

This might give a bit of guidance if you really must DiY  

I believe there is some specific wording which must be included & I will put it word for word from the DoV here, but I'm happy to be corrected.

The parties to this deed intend that the provisions of section 142(1) Inheritance Tax Act and section 62(6) Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 shall apply to the variation made by this Deed.

Thank you. You may be right. This is definitely something which needs to be done correctly