Overview Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 (the Succession Regulation) applies from 17 August 2015 across most EU Member States to testate and intestate successions. The courts of the participating Member State in which the deceased died habitually resident have jurisdiction in succession matters, but the courts of the participating Member State of his nationality may have jurisdiction if a valid choice of court election is made. There is provision for subsidiary and exceptional jurisdiction. The Succession Regulation can affect individuals’ estates if they have any connection to any of the participating Member States in which the Succession Regulation has direct application. This includes individuals resident in third states such as the UK, Ireland, Denmark or resident outside the EU. The law of the state (not necessarily a Member State) in which the deceased died habitually resident will apply to succession matters, unless the deceased was manifestly more closely connected with another state or had chosen to apply the law of the state of his nationality. The

If a testator owns a business interest, this is likely to be their most valuable asset (apart from the family home), either in terms of its capital value or its importance as an income-generating asset. Careful thought is required to ensure the testator has considered what should happen to the business after their death. The appropriate succession to the business interest will depend on a number of factors, including the form of the business (eg whether it is incorporated or unincorporated). Where the business is incorporated as a company there may be a management structure in place that can continue to run the business for the benefit of the estate. With an unincorporated business, there will be a question about whether the business will actually be able to be run after the testator's death (and this will also be the case even if the business interest is a company, if the testator runs the company almost single-handedly). If it is a partnership, it is possible this may continue if there are other partners to run the business but,

Civil partnerships The Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA 2004) puts couples who enter into a civil partnership in the same position as married couples in relation to matters of succession, with effect from 5 December 2005. Civil partnerships are available to same sex couples, and from 2 December 2019, opposite sex couples. There are two forms of registration as civil partners: • the standard procedure • the special procedure by way of a Registrar General’s Licence, used in cases of unavoidable urgency The standard procedure involves the giving of notice of the proposed civil partnership by each partner and this notice is kept on public display for 28 days. After that, assuming no objections have been raised, a civil partnership schedule will be issued. Within 12 months, the civil partnership must then be registered. CPA 2004 sets up a legislative framework that gives civil partners similar rights to their married counterparts. There is no provision in CPA 2004 providing for the term ‘spouse’ to be read generally as including a civil partner.

Testators who wish to benefit or provide for a disabled relative or person will need to take into account a number of factors, including the age of the disabled person, the nature of their disability, their health prognosis, their needs and the level of funding required. Another factor which is frequently considered is the extent to which the state may meet the disabled person’s needs. Each case will therefore need to be examined on its own particular facts and circumstances. Possibly the most difficult issue to resolve is the level of funds that should be provided in light of not knowing precisely what level of care may be required in the future or for how long that care needs to be given. In order to advise a testator appropriately, the practitioner will need to ascertain a number of details and consider various options and combinations of options. Points to consider The factors that need to be taken into account when advising a testator who wishes to make provision for a disabled person will vary from case to case,

There are many reasons why a testator would wish to leave part of their estate to charity. Some may be purely altruistic but it is not uncommon for a testator to use such a gift as a means of extracting goodwill in their lifetime from their relatives. Whatever the reason, testamentary gifts to charities have a number of tax advantages over non-charitable institutions. In particular, with their general exemption from inheritance tax (see section 23 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984)) such gifts are often an effective tax-planning strategy. The exemption extended to EU charities but this is being removed from 6 April 2024 and the exemption will then only apply to UK based charities. These will be registered in the central register of charities kept by the Charities Commission. Not all charities are necessarily exempt and it is necessary to check for HMRC's treatment of them in the Inheritance Tax Manual at IHTM11101. For further guidance on the inheritance tax treatment of charitable gifts, see Practice Notes: IHT exemptions and reliefs on death and

This Practice Note provides an overview of considerations where a testator wishes to benefit minors in their Will. It also highlights other resources relevant to making gifts to minors. Types of provision for minors The starting point is that a gift to a minor beneficiary will need to be held for them until they reach 18. There are, therefore, a number of options where a testator wishes to benefit a minor: • a legacy may be vested in the beneficiary via the minor's parents or guardians on the testator's death if they have not reached 18 • the surviving spouse may be left the relevant estate for life, on the basis that if they do not survive the testator the assets will pass to surviving issue immediately or at a chosen age. See Precedents: Will—to spouse on flexible life interest trust, remainder to children absolutely and Will—to spouse absolutely, then to children absolutely • a gift may be left contingently on the beneficiary reaching 18 (see below in relation to the lapse of gifts) • a gift may

Hotchpot clauses in Wills can be useful in equalising benefits between beneficiaries. The hotchpot rule is also applied in cases of partial intestacy where the deceased died before 1 January 1996, see Partial intestacy below. The use and purpose of a hotchpot clause The testator should be advised about the possible use of a hotchpot clause in three particular instances: • where beneficiaries of a trust may receive benefits under a power of appointment • where advances have been made (or there is an expectation that they may be made) to beneficiaries in the testator's lifetime • where the testator releases debts In respect of the first scenario above, a hotchpot clause could be inserted in the Will to ensure that any member of a class who is the recipient of an appointment credits that shared before they are able to share in any unappointed part of the fund. In circumstances where the testator has made or expects to make advances in their lifetime to certain beneficiaries, they may wish that those beneficiaries bring those advances into

FORTHCOMING CHANGE:Potential changes to Wills Act 1837. The Law Commission review of Wills has issued a final report on 16 May 2025 which includes in volume II a draft bill to replace the Wills Act 1837. For information on these changes, including draft legislation published, see Practice Note: Hot topic—modernising Willsand Modernising wills: Final Report Volume II: draft Bill for a new Wills Act FORTHCOMING CHANGE: As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, the government will bring unused pension funds and death benefits payable from a pension into a person’s estate for Inheritance Tax purposes from 6 April 2027. This will apply both to defined contribution and defined benefit schemes, as well as to UK registered schemes and qualifying non-UK pension schemes. See Finance Act 2026, s66 for further details For further information on the change see: See: Autumn Budget 2024 (para 5.52) OOTLAR (para 2.4), and Technical consultation - Inheritance Tax on pensions: liability, reporting and payment.Private Client—publication of Finance Bill 2026 Usually, the draftsperson will have met the client to take instructions and will have

This Practice Note sets out when a beneficiary may have a negligence claim against a professional Will drafter and provides guidance on how to reduce the risk of such a claim being made. For further comprehensive information on professional negligence claims and client care and management, see Lexis+® UK (subject to subscription). Duties owed to beneficiaries by professionals drafting Wills Generally, solicitors do not owe duties in tort to third parties who are not their clients, although there are exceptional circumstances where the solicitor will be held to have assumed a duty of care to a third party. One such exceptional circumstance is where a solicitor prepares a Will intended to benefit an identified third party. In White v Jones, the House of Lords concluded that such a duty arose. The rationale for this duty to beneficiaries was said by Lord Goff to be: '… if such a duty is not recognised, the only persons who might have a valid claim (ie the testator and his estate) have suffered no loss, and the only person who

Having completed the drafting of the Will, the solicitor must make arrangements to have it signed by the client and witnessed. For guidance on the formal requirements for a valid Will, see Practice Notes: Requirements for a valid Will—Formalities and Validity of Wills—signature. Practical considerations for signing the Will There are usually two ways for the Will to be signed: either in front of the solicitor who prepared it, in their office, or by the testator at home. The latter option is not usually recommended because, if the client signs their Will in the presence of their solicitor, there is a higher chance that the necessary formalities have been fulfilled. If it is necessary for the Will to be executed outside of the solicitor's supervision, it is essential that the solicitor provides the testator with detailed instructions. This is generally dealt with by a standard form that accompanies the Will. This can be in any format the solicitor chooses, as long as it sets out a number of key points, including:

STOP PRESS: Abolition of non-dom regime and introduction of residence-based IHT regime Finance Act 2025 (FA 2025) which received Royal Assent on 20 March 2025, implements legislation to abolish the remittance basis of taxation and replace it with a residence-based regime, from 6 April 2025. FA 2025 also replaces domicile as the key factor in establishing liability to inheritance tax. Other changes include amendment of the rules determining excluded property status, the abolition of protected settlements status of offshore trusts, and changes to overseas workday relief. For information on these changes, see Practice Notes: The abolition of the remittance basis of taxation from 2025–26 and A new residence-based regime for IHT from 2025–26. See also: Finance Bill Tracking Service: Key dates (Finance Bill 2025) and Finance Act 2025. CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19): For guidance on the difficulties and practicalities of taking instructions during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, see Practice Notes: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—remote witnessing of Wills [ARCHIVED] and Coronavirus (COVID-19)—Wills [ARCHIVED]. Even though the instructions to draft a Will may appear to indicate that only

The family home will, in most cases, form a disproportionately large part of the value of family assets. This will provoke a number of issues, among the most important being: • its value may cause a significant IHT problem in its own right, as well as a significant contribution to the overall IHT burden • there will be a natural desire for the property to remain in the ownership of a surviving spouse or one or more children It is because the value of the family home will often result in an IHT liability, even when two nil rate bands are available, that in past years, there have been various arrangements created by legal and taxation practitioners to exploit loopholes in tax legislation. HM Revenue and Customs have consistently responded by introducing anti-avoidance legislation to prevent the use of such arrangements. Examples include the anti-Eversden legislation introduced by Finance Act 2006 into section 102(5A)–(5C) of the Finance Act 1986 (FA 1986) following the House of Lords decision in IRC v Eversden, the anti-Ingram legislation