Inheritance and Executors

BigRedDog69

Hi
First timer so be nice!

Mum wants to give me and wife a substantial gift as we've been her sole carers for 20+ years.  Her estate (inc house etc) would not be liable for inheritance tax.

She DOESN'T want my brothers to know about said gift, but the three of us are all executors (and beneficiaries) of her will.

If she gave us the money now, would the executors/brothers ever need to be aware of this?

Or is she best to write an explicit addendum to her will stating that this gift was by her instruction, and that it shouldn't ultimately be 'deducted from my share of the estate?

I don't want to be underhand or cause family upset, but I do want to follow my mums wishes....

Any advice gratefully received!

p00hsticks

If she dies within 7 years and the 'substantial gift' is over the £3k annual IHT gift allowance, then fellow executors would need to know about it as it would fall back into her estate. 

She doesn't need to add anything to her will, but it would be a good idea for her to put in writing for you (including the date) that she is making you this gift in her lifetime and that on her death she still expects her remaining estate to be divided as per her will, and for you to keep the letter safe in case of any later queries. 

Presumably what remains would be enough to cover any future care costs for her if she needed residential care going forward (otherwise such a gift could be considered a 'deprivation of assets' by the local authority). 
 

Keep_pedalling

Although the estate is below IHT territory it may still be necessary to complete an IHT return if the residential NRB needs to be claimed.

what she is doing seems reasonable as you are the ones caring for her, but I think it better to be honest now rather than the secret coming out later.

Olinda99

The other option would be for her to rewrite her will making just you the executor

I'm not sure how much trouble having three executors will be anyway

BikingBud

BigRedDog69 said:

Hi
First timer so be nice!

Mum wants to give me and wife a substantial gift as we've been her sole carers for 20+ years.  Her estate (inc house etc) would not be liable for inheritance tax.

She DOESN'T want my brothers to know about said gift, but the three of us are all executors (and beneficiaries) of her will.

If she gave us the money now, would the executors/brothers ever need to be aware of this?

Or is she best to write an explicit addendum to her will stating that this gift was by her instruction, and that it shouldn't ultimately be 'deducted from my share of the estate?

I don't want to be underhand or cause family upset, but I do want to follow my mums wishes....

Any advice gratefully received!

I would consider it near impossible to not cause family upset and can foresee the post that might appear on here:

 "My sibling has turned our mother against us and taken our inheritance, how do I get it back?"

I suppose it depends upon what value you place on the continued relationship, you could obviously just take the money and run, it seems to happen often. Or you may wish to discuss with your mother to ensure a fairer outcome is clearly laid out in her will.

If she insists on gifting more to you then you do have the option to redress the balance yourself, via Deed of Variation, but with 3 executors and conflict over the disbursement it could end up being extremely acrimonious (costly). 

I along with @keep_pedalling am of the opinion that being upfront and honest is the best way to deal with this.