Disclaimer and Renunciation of Interest (Qualified Disclaimer) — Delaware

TIMING — IRC § 2518 (9-MONTH DEADLINE): To qualify as a federal "qualified disclaimer," this writing must be signed and delivered within nine (9) months after the date of the decedent's death or other transfer (or within 9 months after the disclaimant turns 21), with no acceptance of the interest or its benefits. Delaware's own statute, 12 Del. C. § 601, independently requires the disclaimer to be received by the transferor's legal representative or the holder of legal title within the same 9-month period. Verify the deadline with counsel before signing.

DISCLAIMER AND RENUNCIATION OF INTEREST (QUALIFIED DISCLAIMER)

STATE OF DELAWARE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Disclaimant Information
2. Identification of the Transfer and Interest Disclaimed
3. Statutory Authority
4. The Disclaimer
5. Qualified-Disclaimer Representations
6. Effect and Passing of the Disclaimed Interest
7. Irrevocability and Binding Effect
8. Delivery, Filing, and Recording
9. Signature, Acknowledgment, and Notarization
10. Verification / Declaration
11. Certificate of Delivery / Service
12. Attachments Checklist

1. DISCLAIMANT INFORMATION

The undersigned (the "Disclaimant") is a person to whom a disclaimed interest in property would have passed had the disclaimer not been made, within the meaning of 12 Del. C. §§ 601 and 605, namely a(n): ☐ heir ☐ next of kin ☐ devisee ☐ legatee ☐ grantee ☐ donee ☐ surviving joint tenant ☐ beneficiary under a testamentary or nontestamentary instrument or contract ☐ appointee under a power of appointment ☐ other: [____________________].

2. IDENTIFICATION OF THE TRANSFER AND INTEREST DISCLAIMED

Source of the interest (check all that apply):
☐ Last Will and Testament of the Decedent
☐ Intestate succession (12 Del. C. ch. 5)
☐ Revocable, inter vivos, or testamentary trust
☐ Beneficiary designation (life insurance, retirement plan, annuity, POD/TOD account, or security registered in beneficiary form)
☐ Joint tenancy with right of survivorship / tenancy by the entirety
☐ Power of appointment
☐ Other: [________________________________]

Extent of the disclaimer:
☐ Full disclaimer — the Disclaimant disclaims the entire interest described above.
☐ Partial disclaimer — the Disclaimant disclaims only the following fractional, percentage, term-of-years, or pecuniary portion (as permitted by 12 Del. C. § 605(d)): [____________________] (e.g., an undivided ____% interest, or the sum of $[____________]).

Legal description of any real property disclaimed (or see attached Exhibit A): [________________________________]

3. STATUTORY AUTHORITY

This Disclaimer is made under the Delaware Disclaimer Act, 12 Del. C. ch. 6 (§§ 601 et seq.), and is intended to constitute a qualified disclaimer under 26 U.S.C. § 2518 and Treas. Reg. § 25.2518-2.

• 12 Del. C. § 601 authorizes a person to whom property or an interest in property devolves to disclaim it, in whole or in part, by delivering a written disclaimer, notwithstanding any spendthrift provision or similar restriction, and requires that the disclaimer be received within nine months by the legal representative of the transferor or the holder of the legal title to which the interest relates.
• 12 Del. C. § 605 requires that the disclaimer (1) be in a writing; (2) declare the disclaimer and the extent thereof; (3) describe the interest or power disclaimed; (4) be signed by the Disclaimant (or by another at the Disclaimant's direction before two competent witnesses); and (5) be delivered in the manner provided in § 612.
• 12 Del. C. § 606 governs the effect of the disclaimer and the passing of the disclaimed interest.

4. THE DISCLAIMER

The Disclaimant, intending to be legally bound, hereby IRREVOCABLY and UNQUALIFIEDLY DISCLAIMS and RENOUNCES all (or, where a partial disclaimer is elected in Section 2, the stated fractional, percentage, term-of-years, or pecuniary part of all) right, title, claim, and interest of every kind — whether vested or contingent, present or future, legal or equitable — in and to the property and interest described in Section 2 above.

This Disclaimer is made freely, voluntarily, and with full knowledge of its legal and tax consequences.

5. QUALIFIED-DISCLAIMER REPRESENTATIONS

The Disclaimant represents and certifies that:

☐ This Disclaimer is in writing and signed by the Disclaimant (or the Disclaimant's legal representative), as required by 12 Del. C. § 605 and Treas. Reg. § 25.2518-2(b).

☐ This Disclaimer is being delivered and received within nine (9) months after the later of (a) the date of the Decedent's death or the effective date of the transfer creating the interest, or (b) the date the Disclaimant attained age 21 (12 Del. C. § 601; 26 U.S.C. § 2518(b)(2)).

☐ The Disclaimant has NOT accepted the disclaimed interest or any of its benefits, and has not assigned, conveyed, encumbered, pledged, transferred, or contracted to transfer the interest (Treas. Reg. § 25.2518-2(d)).

☐ The disclaimed interest passes without any direction on the part of the Disclaimant (26 U.S.C. § 2518(b)(4); Treas. Reg. § 25.2518-2(e)).

☐ As a result of this Disclaimer, the interest passes as if the Disclaimant had died immediately before the time of distribution (or, for an intestate interest, as of the intestate's death), as provided by 12 Del. C. § 606.

☐ This Disclaimer is intended as a qualified disclaimer under 26 U.S.C. § 2518 for federal transfer-tax purposes.

6. EFFECT AND PASSING OF THE DISCLAIMED INTEREST

Under 12 Del. C. § 606, unless the instrument creating the interest provides otherwise, the disclaimed interest passes as if the Disclaimant had died immediately before the time of distribution; if the disclaimed interest arose under the law of intestate succession, the disclaimer takes effect as of the time of the intestate's death. A future interest held by a person other than the Disclaimant takes effect as if the Disclaimant had died or ceased to exist immediately before the time of distribution. The disclaimer relates back to the time the instrument creating the interest became irrevocable, or to the determinative event, as applicable.

The Disclaimant does not direct to whom the disclaimed interest passes; it passes solely by operation of the governing instrument and Delaware law.

7. IRREVOCABILITY AND BINDING EFFECT

This Disclaimer is irrevocable and may not be modified, withdrawn, or rescinded once delivered or filed. Under 12 Del. C. § 605(e), the Disclaimer becomes irrevocable when it is delivered pursuant to § 612 or becomes effective under §§ 606–611, whichever occurs later. This Disclaimer is binding upon the Disclaimant and all persons claiming through or under the Disclaimant.

8. DELIVERY, FILING, AND RECORDING

Pursuant to 12 Del. C. § 612, the Disclaimant shall (check all that apply):

☐ Deliver this Disclaimer to the personal representative of the Decedent's estate (for an interest created by will or by intestate succession, other than an interest in a testamentary trust), and also deliver it to the Court of Chancery / Register of Wills in the county where administration of the estate has been or could be commenced.

☐ Deliver this Disclaimer to the trustee then serving (or, if none, to the personal representative or the court having jurisdiction) for an interest in a testamentary or inter vivos trust.

☐ Deliver this Disclaimer to the person making the beneficiary designation (if disclaimed before the designation becomes irrevocable) or to the person obligated to distribute the interest (if disclaimed after it becomes irrevocable).

☐ Deliver this Disclaimer to the person or persons to whom the disclaimed interest passes (for a disclaimer by a surviving owner of jointly held property).

☐ Record this Disclaimer in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of [____________] County, Delaware, where the real property is located, if real property or an interest in real property created by a beneficiary designation is disclaimed (12 Del. C. § 612(f)(2)).

9. SIGNATURE, ACKNOWLEDGMENT, AND NOTARIZATION

Executed this [____] day of [____________], 20[____].

Disclaimant Signature: ______________________________________

Printed Name: [________________________________]

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

STATE OF DELAWARE )
COUNTY OF [____________] )

Before me, the undersigned Notary Public in and for said county and state, personally appeared [DISCLAIMANT FULL LEGAL NAME], known to me (or satisfactorily proven) to be the person whose name is subscribed to the foregoing instrument, who acknowledged before me that he/she executed the same voluntarily on the day the same bears date.

Given under my hand and official seal this [____] day of [____________], 20[____].

______________________________________
Notary Public
My commission expires: [__/__/____]

[NOTARY SEAL]

10. VERIFICATION / DECLARATION

I, [DISCLAIMANT FULL LEGAL NAME], declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Delaware that the foregoing is true and correct, that I have not accepted the disclaimed interest or any benefit thereof, and that I make this Disclaimer of my own free will.

Signature: ______________________________________
Date: [__/__/____]

11. CERTIFICATE OF DELIVERY / SERVICE

I certify that on the date(s) shown below a true and correct copy of this Disclaimer was delivered (in person, by first-class mail, or by any other method likely to result in its receipt) to the following:

Signature: ______________________________________
Printed Name: [________________________________]

12. ATTACHMENTS CHECKLIST

☐ Copy of the Last Will and Testament, trust instrument, or beneficiary designation creating the disclaimed interest
☐ Exhibit A — legal description of any real property disclaimed
☐ Certified copy of the Decedent's Death Certificate
☐ Proof of delivery / mailing (registered or certified mail receipts)
☐ Recorded copy of the Disclaimer (Recorder of Deeds), if real property is involved
☐ File-stamped copy from the Register of Wills / Court of Chancery (estate proceeding)

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Delaware Disclaimer Act, 12 Del. C. ch. 6 (§§ 601 et seq.) — https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c006/index.html
• 12 Del. C. § 605 (Power to disclaim; requisites and execution) — https://law.justia.com/codes/delaware/title-12/chapter-6/section-605/
• 12 Del. C. § 606 (Disclaimer of interest in property) — https://law.justia.com/codes/delaware/title-12/chapter-6/section-606/
• 12 Del. C. § 612 (Delivery and recording requirements) — https://law.justia.com/codes/delaware/title-12/chapter-6/section-612-d-1/
• 26 U.S.C. § 2518 (Disclaimers) — https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/2518
• Treas. Reg. § 25.2518-2 (Requirements for a qualified disclaimer) — https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/25.2518-2