Can a Deed of Variation be used to vary the rules of Intestacy?
A person who dies without making a Will is said to have died ‘intestate’ and thus the statutory rules of intestacy apply. Sometimes, this can result in an unfair distribution of the estate or a situation where more inheritance tax is payable than would have been if a Will had been made. A Deed of Variation CAN be used to vary the statutory intestacy rules. Example: Stan dies leaving a wife Beth and a son, Stuart. His estate is worth 300,000 and he did not make a Will. Under the rules of intestacy his widow would receive all the personal chattels and the first 125,000 of the estate free of tax and costs. Beth would also be entitled to a life interest in one half of the remainder of the estate i.e. to income from one half of the residue. The other half would pass to Stan and Beth’s son, Stuart. Thus Stuart would be entitled to the remaining 87,500 from the estate. If Stuart felt that his mother was not adequately provided for, he could pass all/part of his share in the estate to his moth
