I act as a client where the main asset in a deceased’s estate is a property.
The will leaves the property to the three children in equal shares.
One of the children wants the property; the other children want cash.
Can the child who wants the property pay cash into the estate, so that they receive the property in full while their siblings receive the cash value?
I assume this would be treated as purchasing a 2/3 share in the property, and therefore SDLT would apply to the cash paid to the estate and CGT might apply if there is an uplift in value.
The only other time I have done this is where there are assets and cash and the will was varied under a deed of varation.
In principle there shouldn’t be any difficulty here. You have identified the possible tax issues. It may be possible to appropriate the property to all children equally immediately prior to the “sale” to give multiple CGT allowances.
It can sometimes be difficult to assess exactly how much cash will need to be added, especially if the property represents all the value in the estate, because some of the cash will be needed for administration expenses (and any liabilities/legacies) and these will need to be paid from the general estate (i.e. borne by all the beneficiaries equally, not only by those taking cash inheritance)