Leaving Money to Nieces and Nephews

Under the intestacy rules, nieces and nephews only inherit in fairly specific circumstances, generally where the deceased has no surviving spouse, children, parents or siblings, and even then, only through the share their own parent (your sibling) would have received had they survived. In many families, this means nieces and nephews receive nothing automatically at all.

If you want a niece or nephew to inherit, whether a small keepsake or a meaningful sum, the only reliable way to make sure that happens is to name them in your will.

You can leave a niece or nephew a specific item, such as a piece of jewellery or a family heirloom, a fixed cash legacy, or a percentage share of your residuary estate. Which approach suits you depends on how significant you want the gift to be and how the rest of your estate is structured.

Specific gifts and cash legacies are usually paid out before the residuary estate is calculated, so they are a good option if you want a niece or nephew to receive a defined amount regardless of how the rest of the estate performs. A residuary share instead ties their inheritance to the overall value of the estate, which may rise or fall.

If you have a number of nieces and nephews, you can either name each individually with their own specific gift or share, or leave a gift to 'my nieces and nephews' as a group to be divided between them, whether equally per person or equally per family branch. Being explicit about which approach you mean avoids confusion for your executors later.

It is also sensible to consider whether you want to include nieces and nephews who might be born after you write your will, and word the gift accordingly if so.

As with any beneficiary, it is worth stating what happens if a niece or nephew named in your will is no longer alive when you die. You can specify that their share passes to their own children, is divided between the surviving nieces and nephews, or falls back into your residuary estate, whichever best reflects your wishes.

Without clear wording, an unexpected result can occur, for example a gift lapsing and falling into intestacy rather than passing to the people you would have wanted.

Leaving money or specific gifts to nieces and nephews is a common and straightforward addition to a will, alongside provision for closer family. Clear naming, a defined type of gift, and a stated fallback are usually all that is needed for these gifts to work as intended.

My Posh Will's guided online process lets you add specific gifts and cash legacies to any beneficiary, including nieces and nephews, alongside your main provisions for family. 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.