Can I Leave Different Gifts to Different People?

Unlike some other countries, England and Wales does not have a system of forced heirship requiring you to leave fixed shares of your estate to particular relatives. You are generally free to leave your estate however you choose, whether that means treating children equally, unequally, or leaving nothing to a particular family member at all.

This freedom is not absolute. Certain people, including spouses, civil partners, former spouses who have not remarried, children, and others who were financially dependent on you, can bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 if they believe your will (or the intestacy rules) did not make reasonable financial provision for them. This does not prevent you making different gifts to different people, but it is worth being aware of, especially if you are excluding someone who might otherwise expect provision.

A single will can quite easily combine several types of gift: for example, leaving a piece of jewellery to one daughter, a car to a son, £5,000 to a godchild, and the residue of the estate split equally between your children. There is no legal requirement for consistency between these categories, and most wills of any complexity use a mix.

It helps enormously to structure the will clearly, dealing with specific gifts first, then pecuniary legacies, then the gift of residue, so that your executors and any reader can see exactly how the estate is meant to be divided at each stage, and so that gifts do not accidentally overlap or contradict each other.

The main risk with different gifts to different people is not legal invalidity, since this kind of will is entirely standard, but family disagreement, particularly where the differences are not explained and come as a surprise. Wording each gift precisely, and being consistent about how you refer to people (full names, not just relationships, where there could be confusion) reduces the risk of a dispute over interpretation.

Where you know that treating people differently might cause hurt or confusion, for example leaving more to a child who provided care in your final years, it is often worth explaining your reasoning somewhere, whether in conversation during your lifetime or in a letter of wishes, so that people understand your intentions rather than being left to speculate.

A letter of wishes is a separate, non-binding document that can sit alongside your will and explain the thinking behind your decisions, which can be particularly valuable where gifts are unequal or unusual. It is not part of the legal will and does not need to be witnessed in the same way, but it can be persuasive evidence of your intentions if a dispute or a 1975 Act claim ever arose.

Explaining your reasoning does not prevent someone bringing a claim if they have genuine grounds to do so, but it often reduces the likelihood of family conflict simply because people understand why a decision was made, rather than being left to assume the worst.

If you are planning significantly unequal gifts, excluding someone who might otherwise expect to inherit, such as a child or a former spouse, or providing for a complex blended family, it is worth taking advice from a solicitor. They can help you word the will to reflect your intentions clearly and can advise on the practical risk of a claim, and how a letter of wishes or other steps might help manage that risk.

For more straightforward situations, such as simply leaving different items or amounts to different family members without any unusual exclusion, a well-drafted online will is generally capable of dealing with this clearly, provided each gift is described specifically.