Can I Leave My Estate to My Grandchildren?

You can name grandchildren in your will as recipients of specific sums of money, particular items, or a share of your residuary estate, in exactly the same way as any other beneficiary. This is common where grandparents want to help fund things like education, a first home deposit, or simply pass on wealth directly to the next generation.

Because grandchildren are often still children, or not yet born, when a will is written, it is important to describe them clearly, for example 'my grandchildren living at my death' or by naming them individually with a provision for any born later, so there is no ambiguity about who is included.

If a grandchild is likely to be under 18 when you die, any gift to them will normally need to be held on trust by your executors or separately appointed trustees until they reach the age you specify, since a minor cannot generally give a valid receipt for their inheritance or manage significant funds themselves.

You choose the age at which the gift vests, commonly 18, 21 or 25. Trustees can usually apply income or capital for a grandchild's maintenance, education or benefit before that age, so choosing a later vesting age does not prevent the money being used sensibly in the meantime.

If you have several children with differing numbers of children of their own, think about whether you want to divide a gift to 'my grandchildren' equally between each grandchild individually, or equally between each family branch (so a family with one child receives the same total as a family with three). These two approaches can produce very different outcomes and it is worth being explicit about which you intend.

Being clear about this in the will itself avoids any ambiguity or unintended unfairness between different branches of the family, which can otherwise become a source of tension.

Many grandparents leave the bulk of their estate to their own children and add specific, smaller gifts to grandchildren, while others prefer to skip a generation for tax planning or personal reasons and leave more directly to grandchildren. Both approaches are legitimate; the right balance depends on your family's circumstances and your own wishes.

If inheritance tax planning is a significant factor in your decision, for example wanting to reduce the value of your estate for tax purposes by gifting or leaving assets to grandchildren, take specialist tax advice, since the rules on gifts, trusts and tax are detailed and depend on your full financial position.

Whether you are leaving a specific sum to each grandchild, a share of your residuary estate, or setting up a trust for grandchildren generally, the will needs to name or clearly define the grandchildren, state the age at which they inherit, and say what happens if a grandchild is not yet born or dies before the gift vests.

My Posh Will's guided online process lets you add specific gifts to grandchildren alongside provision for your children, with the inheritance age of your choice. A single will costs £69 and mirror wills cost £89, both one-off payments with lifetime access, and the process usually takes about ten minutes. If your family or tax situation is complex, take individual advice before finalising your will.