IHTM35207 | Orders under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants Act) 1975: claims settled without a Court Order

From HM Revenue & Customs · Inheritance Tax Manual

You should refer to Technical any case in which a claim under the I(PFD)A 1975 is compromised without a court order or an order staying or dismissing proceedings. This includes cases in which the compromise is embodied in an instrument of variation () but there is no election. ()

Situations where such compromises may be particularly material include those which have the effect of reducing benefits taken under the will or intestacy by the spouse or civil partner () or a charity (with the parties nevertheless contending that the exemption on death is not to be restricted). But in some cases the original beneficiaries may allege that the claim against their inheritance is to be satisfied out of their own resources rather than out of the assets compromised in the death estate.