Deed of Variation

A Deed of Variation is a document created after your death that your estate administrators or executors can prepare and sign to alter the distribution of your estate. There are generally two types of Deed of Variation, firstly there is a Deed to alter Intestacy secondly there is a Deed to alter your Will.

If you died intestate (without a will) your estate has to be distributed under the Rules of Intestacy. This could mean that your spouse would be restricted in the amount of inheritance that they could receive.

Often this causes hardship so a Deed of Variation of Intestacy could be created which could alter the amount the spouse would receive.

Some would then say why should I make a will if the problem can be resolved after my death. The answer is quite simple, it costs a lot more to create a deed of variation than to create a will.

There are other more important reasons too, if your estate was to pass under intestacy and there was a need to create a deed of variation, this could not be done if you had children under the age of 18 as the children would become beneficiaries and in order to create a deed of variation you need all of the beneficiaries approval. Children under the age of 18 are not premitted to consent to a deed of variation.

If you are currently in state that you need a Deed of Variation, then you can contact us via our website, iwc-ltd.com.