You can leave gifts to children in your Will, but remember to be careful how you refer to them. You will probably refer to your children as children long after they have grown up, but when the law refers to children it means people under the age of 18.

This does not usually lead to problems in a Will, because a practical view can be taken as to who you intend to benefit. It is almost always the case that you would want to benefit particular people because of their relationship to you, not because of their age.

So when you refer to ‘my children’ you probably mean your sons and daughters, whatever age they happen to be when you die. But if you were to make a gift for the benefit of the children at a particular school, it would mean the children who are there at the time of your death.

Unless you are making a specific gift to a particular one of your children, it is usual to leave a gift to children as a group, either by including a clause stating that a gift should go to ‘My children’ or even to the children of someone else, such as ‘My sister Jane’s children’.

Any reference to children generally refers only to the first generation from a specified person. For example, a gift to ‘my children’ would cover all of your children, but not your grandchildren. However, this can be extended, depending on the context of each individual case, if it can be shown that you regarded someone else as ‘your child’ and so would have wanted them to benefit from your Will. Examples of this include:

References to children also automatically include any adopted children and illegitimate children, unless you have included something in your Will to suggest you want them excluded. Stepchildren are not automatically included so they need to be specifically included within the definition of 'children' in your Will if they are to benefit from your estate. If your family situation is at all complicated it is highly recommended that you are precise with your wording, and include an explanation of what you mean by ‘children’. And remember that the law does not favour excluding close family and dependants from your Will.

Grandchildren, as well as children, are commonly the beneficiaries in a Will. As from 2017, both children and grandchildren can benefit from the introduction of a main residence nil rate band, which means that there is an increased tax-free allowance for them on the family home.

It is also common to want to benefit your children’s children in the event that one of your children has died before you. In this situation, you might wish your grandchildren from that branch of your family to inherit the share of your estate that their parent would have taken if they had survived you. You can make provision for this in your Will.

Children cannot inherit a property if they are under 18. If this happens, the law creates an automatic trust, which will look after the property until the child reaches 18. Often, this trust will be managed by the Executors of the Will.

Your Will can, however, provide that they are to be able to give a valid receipt for a legacy if they have reached 16. Otherwise, a receipt would have to be given by a parent or Guardian.