Disclaimer of Inheritance: How to Refuse What You've Been Left

Can you refuse an inheritance, and how do you do it?

1A disclaimer is all-or-nothing: you cannot accept part of a gift and disclaim the rest from the same source.
2You must disclaim before you have accepted any benefit from the gift — once you have received a distribution, it is too late to disclaim.
3A disclaimer does not direct where the gift goes — it simply falls back into the estate and is distributed according to the will or intestacy.
4For inheritance tax purposes, a disclaimer made by an instrument in writing within two years of the death is treated as if the disclaimed benefit had never been conferred (s.142 Inheritance Tax Act 1984). Section 93 is a different provision, covering interests in settled property.
5A disclaimer is irrevocable — once made, you cannot change your mind.
6This page describes the law of England and Wales.

A beneficiary can refuse an inheritance by way of a disclaimer. Once disclaimed, the gift falls back into the residue of the estate and is distributed according to the will or intestacy rules — the disclaiming beneficiary has no control over where it goes. Disclaimers must be made promptly and before accepting any benefit from the gift.

Why would someone disclaim an inheritance?

The most common reasons for disclaiming an inheritance are:

The beneficiary has a large estate themselves — accepting the inheritance would increase their estate and generate more IHT on their own death
The inheritance is a liability — for example, a property with a large mortgage, or a share in a business with significant debts
The beneficiary receives means-tested benefits — an inheritance counts as capital and can reduce or end an award. Disclaiming does not reliably solve this: under regulation 50 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013, and the equivalent rules for other means-tested benefits, a person who deprives themselves of capital in order to secure or increase an award is treated as still possessing it
Family agreement — a surviving child may want the inheritance to pass directly to their own children
Simplification — to reduce the number of beneficiaries and simplify estate administration

A disclaimer must be total

This is the most important rule: a disclaimer is all or nothing from a particular source. You cannot accept a portion of a gift and disclaim the rest. For example:

If you are left £100,000 in a will, you must either take all of it or disclaim all of it
If you are entitled to a share of the residue, you must disclaim your entire residuary share — you cannot keep part
If you are entitled to both a specific legacy and a share of the residue, these are separate gifts — you can disclaim one and accept the other

If you want to redirect a gift to a specific person, you should use a deed of variation instead of a disclaimer. See our deed of variation guide.

You cannot disclaim after accepting a benefit

A disclaimer is only valid if the beneficiary has not already accepted a benefit from the gift. Acceptance can be express (signing a receipt, asking for the money to be transferred) or implied (using the inherited property, withdrawing from an inherited bank account).

In practice, executors should be careful not to distribute assets to beneficiaries who are considering a disclaimer. Once a beneficiary has received their share — even informally — the right to disclaim is lost.

How to make a disclaimer

A disclaimer can be made orally as a matter of general law, but if you want the inheritance tax treatment in section 142 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 it must be made by an instrument in writing, within two years of the death. The disclaimer should:

Be addressed to the executor(s)
Identify the gift being disclaimed by reference to the will or intestacy entitlement
State clearly that the beneficiary disclaims all interest in the named gift
Be signed and dated by the disclaiming beneficiary
Be made within two years of the death, and not for any consideration in money or money's worth — section 142(3) takes the relief away if it is

There is no prescribed form, and no statutory statement of intent is needed. The statement requirement in section 142(2) applies to variations, not to disclaimers. A straightforward letter will do for a simple disclaimer; where significant assets or trust interests are involved, the drafting is where things go wrong, and a solicitor can review it before it is sent.

IHT effect of a disclaimer

For inheritance tax purposes, where the benefit conferred by a will or by the intestacy rules is disclaimed by an instrument in writing within two years of the death, the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 applies as if the disclaimed benefit “had never been conferred” — section 142(1)(b). The disclaimed asset falls back into the estate and is taxed accordingly.

Section 93 of the same Act is sometimes quoted here, but it does something narrower: it deals with a person who becomes entitled to an interest in settled property and disclaims it. It is not the provision that governs disclaiming a legacy or an intestacy share.

This means the disclaiming beneficiary is not treated as having made a gift themselves — no PET or chargeable transfer arises for them. The IHT is recalculated based on the new distribution of the estate after the disclaimer.

If a disclaimer changes the inheritance tax due — for example, because the gift falls back to a non-exempt beneficiary — the personal representatives will need to report the revised position to HMRC. A disclaimer can increase the tax as easily as reduce it, so work out the effect before making one.

Where does the disclaimed gift go?

This depends on the terms of the will:

If a specific legacy is disclaimed, check whether the will has a substitution clause — if so, the gift passes to the substitute beneficiary. If not, it falls into the residue.
If a share of residue is disclaimed, the remaining residuary beneficiaries take the disclaimed share in their respective proportions (unless the will says otherwise).
Under intestacy, section 46A of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 treats the person who disclaims as having died immediately before the intestate, so the share passes down their own line or on to the next class. That section was inserted in 2012 and applies in England and Wales; Scotland has its own succession rules.

The disclaiming beneficiary has no control over the ultimate destination. If they want to direct who benefits, they should use a deed of variation.

Practical steps

Decide quickly — you cannot disclaim after accepting a benefit
Check the will for substitution clauses and residuary provisions
Draft a written disclaimer — section 142 needs an instrument in writing for the tax treatment
Send it to the executor before any distribution is made
Keep a copy — the date may be important for IHT

For the broader estate administration context, see our estate administration checklist, complete UK probate guide 2026, and applying for probate guide. The IHT guide covers the tax implications in detail. For distributing the estate after a disclaimer, see our distributing the residuary estate guide. For redirecting a gift to a specific person, see the deed of variation guide. For beneficiaries refusing inheritance, see also our beneficiary refuses inheritance guide. For the executor's first steps, see our executor first steps guide. For estate accounts, see our estate accounts guide.