No particular form is provided for a IHTA84/S142 (2)
election, which may be made in any form indicating an intention
that IHTA84/S142 (1) should apply to the instrument. In particular,
a declaration to that effect incorporated in the variation itself
is quite acceptable. The published guidelines at
IHTM35021 say that the notice should
ideally refer to the appropriate statutory provisions.
However it is also sufficient if, in appropriate words, there
is an agreement - an election - that clearly states that, for IHT
purposes, the person(s) making the instrument wish the variation to
apply
as if it had been made by the deceased. If there
is any doubt that the election is not made specifically for IHT
purposes refer to the TG.
Occasionally the election (included in the recitals to the
deed and believed to have been abstracted from a book of legal
precedents) takes a form that could be regarded as no more than a
statement of intention to elect. Taken in conjunction with the
covering letter, however, this may amount to an election. You
should refer any such case, with a brief statement of the facts, to
TG immediately a claim is made that such a statement of intention
amounts to an election.
