Introduction

Deciding to make a Will and then actually putting the decision into action can be a somewhat stressful, upsetting and daunting task for some people. So it may be a little disconcerting to learn that after you have put all that effort and thought into planning your Will that there might be some opportunity for those left behind to change your instructions and alter your Will. after you are gone. It is a perfectly sound argument to point out that you have the right to leave your possessions to whom you please and therefore why should disgruntled beneficiaries be allowed to change your instructions?

The Government's focus on tax avoidance, the overhaul of the trusts regime as proposed in the Pre-Budget Report 2004 and the consequent new legislation - Finance Act 2004 (to come into effect April 2005) - led some to believe that Deeds of Variation - the means by which a testator's instructions in a Will are amended - would cease to be valid.

However, the Chancellor Gordon Brown did not rule out their existence and therefore such Deeds have continued application and relevance. So what exactly are Deeds of Variation, how are they created and what is the justification for their continued existence?

Deeds of Variation - What Are They?

A Deed of Variation is a written document which seeks to amend/vary certain instructions/dispositions in a testator's Will. The result of a variation to any Will is that one or more beneficiaries will have their entitlement affected in order to take into account someone else's new entitlement; this means that either their share is reduced in value or completely obliterated. The following example, (whilst probably very artificial), demonstrates the point.

Example

Maude in her Will left