English or Scottish Jurisdiction for Deed of Variation?

Trusts Discussion
1

Dear all,

I am dealing with an as yet undistributed, intestate estate where the deceased was domiciled in England and her spouse is domiciled in Scotland. The spouse would like to enter into a deed of variation to redirect his inheritance to their children. Should the DoV be drafted under English or Scottish law? ie. Should the jurisdiction of the testator or the original beneficiary apply to the DoV and does it make a difference in this regard whether or not the estate has been distributed by the date of the DoV?

Many thanks

Louise Wilson
Standard Life

2

Under a DoV the original beneficiary is simply making a gift of property. It is therefore the personal law of such beneficiary (ie Scottish law) which is relevant, not that of the testator.

Whether the estate has been distributed or not is irrelevant to this issue.

Malcolm Finney