Deed of Variation

A question about : Deed of Variation

Hi there - would anyone know where I can download a form for a Deed of Variation to my father's will?
In his will, he has left me around Ј50000 but I would like to split it between my two children and my wife and I - each getting a quarter share. I believe I have to make a deed of variation but I cannot see any form to download. Maybe it has to be done through a solicitor only?
I would be grateful to hear from anyone with any comments.

Best answers:

• The first question is why won't gifts work.
  then consider a DOV, their only real use is to reduce tax.
  (which will make sense if trying to avoid kids taxable income from parents )
• HMRC only want to see a DoV if it affects the tax position in the Estate. If it's one non-exempt beneficiary to four non-exempt it's not going to be an issue in that Estate.
  I'd also ask if there was any reason you can't gift direct rather than do a DoV. A gift to a spouse will be tax free in any event. Gifts to children are Potentially Exempt Transfers and might need to be brought back into your Estate for tax purposes if you died within a certain number of years of the gift.
• Leaving the will as it is and giving your wife and children gifts seems the easiest and cheapest route.
• Sorry not to have got back to you all earlier but I was having major problems with my password.
  The comments have been very useful thanks. Just to clarify one or two points. One of the reasons for doing the DOV would be that it would distribute money without extra impact on my IHT threshold which I will be above. Also there is only my sister and I mentioned in the Will - half of my Father's estate going to each of us so as there are no others involved presumably no one will object to any changes.
  I'm still not sure whether there is an official form that I have to fill in or whether I just write down what I have done and lodge it with a solicitor or just keep a copy myself.
• If you want it to have legal, tax saving effect then it needs to be a correctly drafted Deed. Your best choice is to spend a few hundred on proper legal advice rather than risking it on something you download for free off the internet.