Gift and Tax position?

[Bobbyboy]

My will states that when I die any finance that I have will be distributed 50% to each of my two sons.
One of my sons is in need of some cash now £10,000 for repairs to the roof of his house.
How do I arrange, that when I die the other son gets £10,000 more than the son who has cash for his roof now.
Plus what is the tax position if I go ahead with this,

[atticus]

Your will provides:

1. £10k to son X

2. After that, the remainder divided equally between son X and son Y.

[PallasAthena]

If the £10,000 you are giving to your son to repair his roof is intended to be a gift to him then no tax is payable. Neither the giver of a gift nor the receiver in these circumstances is liable for tax nor are they required to declare it to HMRC.

Where it does become a tax issue is Inheritance Tax [IHT] when you die, only of course if your Estate is large enough for IHT to apply.

You have asked about IHT here in earlier threads so I assume you are familiar with the general principles of it. Gifts given before death might be considered still part of your Estate, and therefore potentially subject to IHT. If you live more than 7 years from when you make the gift it is exempt from IHT. Otherwise it is subject to IHT but on a sliding scale so not necessarily the full £10,000.

In normal circumstances neither the son who received the gift nor the beneficiaries are thenselves liable to pay the IHT. Your Estate is liable for the IHT and this is paid out by your Executors before anything is distributed to beneficiaries.