Malcolm Finney explains what a disclaimer is and how it works for inheritance tax purposes.
Inheritance tax (IHT) is levied on a person’s estate on death and on lifetime gifts. The distribution of the deceased’s estate on death is set out in the deceased’s will (or according to the rules of intestacy, where there is no will).
A beneficiary under a will can either simply accept the bounty conferred by the deceased under the will, they can redirect their inheritance to one or more other persons, or they can simply disclaim their inheritance. Each option is likely to have different IHT consequences.
Common law and disclaimers
A person may disclaim a gift under general law and cannot be forced by, for example, a testator to accept an inheritance or gift.
In Thompson v Leach (1690) 2 Vent 198, it was stated that no
