IHTM11044 - General procedure for death transfers: reviewing cases where the spouse or civil partner is not the only beneficiary

If the spouse or civil partner (IHTM11032) is not the sole beneficiary, the degree to which you should examine the case should depend on the facts. You should confine the examination to ensuring that tax is paid on any taxable benefits. For example if the only taxable benefits are pecuniary legacies (IHTM12072) which are clearly below the threshold (taking into account any lifetime cumulative total (IHTM14503) and any property taxable at another entry) you should examine the case as if the spouse or civil partner took the whole estate (IHTM11043).

Remember that where an estate is partly spouse or civil partner exempt, and partly chargeable, there are special rules (IHTM26001) for calculating the chargeable transfer.