Yes this can be done!
A Deed of Variation is a legal document which allows a beneficiary of an estate to pass on their share or part of their share to someone if they do not want or need their entitlement under the deceased’s Will or under the rules of Intestacy. Any Deed of Variation must be dealt with within two years from the date of death but can be prepared before or after the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration being issued. There are many different reasons why a beneficiary may wish to vary their entitlement under a Will or via intestacy, some of these are:
The beneficiary may wish to make a distribution between family members equal, so as to be fair to everyone involved, or the Beneficiary may wish to include family members which were not mentioned in the Will such as grandchildren which were not yet born at the time the Will was drafted.
The Estate could be liable for Inheritance Tax and therefore the Beneficiary could vary the Will to reduce the Inheritance Tax due by for example including a charity as one of the beneficiaries.
There may be an uncertainty within a Will which requires clarifying, in which case a Deed of Variation may be necessary.
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