Adding a disclaimer provision to your estate planning documents can give your beneficiaries the ability to determine how to split assets after your death. A disclaimer details what will happen if one of your beneficiaries disclaims his/her inheritance. That way, your beneficiaries can decide after your death how much should be placed in various trusts.
For instance, a husband can leave all his assets to his wife with the condition that any disclaimed assets go into a trust paying her income for life, and distributing the principal to their children after her death. This gives the wife the opportunity to divide assets based on her needs and wishes at the time of her husband's death.
The disclaimer provision allows you to determine what will happen to disclaimed assets. Before using a declaimer, you should make sure that you understand the implications for your estate plan. For a disclaimer to be legally valid, it must comply with both federal and state guidelines.