| SUCCESSSTORY | Fairy tale year following heir a little way inside (7,5) |
| INAUGURATION | --- Day, the day on which a president of the US is formally placed in office, on January 20 of the year following the election (12) |
| REGISTRATION | 11d and first of the year following the sign in (12) |
| POLARIZATION | M-W's word of the year, following the country's heated 2024 election |
| EXECUTIVETOY | Perhaps hang around four years following, to create board diversion? (9,3) |
| PORTION | A fraction; a share of an estate descending to an heir; a helping of food suitable for one person; one's destiny, fate or lot; or, a dowry (7) |
| CAVEAT | Legal notice to a court with a feline animal a short way inside |
| JOHNSON | Old king has heir, a buffoon in charge for a spell |
| INSTEPS | Way inside, among a cluster of pines, finding parts of a body (7) |
| AGEONE | The year following a first birthday |
| BLURAY | Movie format: a year following Britpop band |
| HERITAGE | Get heir a settlement he expects |
| GOINGSON | Leaving possible heir a dodgy business? |
| NUNCUPAT | He calls by name, he names as heir (a predominantly legal term) |
| LEADON | Stable a donkey needs? Show the way inside |
| HARDEN | Set a short way inside layer (6) |
| SALON | Beauty parlour is a long way inside (5) |
| ECSTASY | Drug initially concealed way inside a piece of cake (7) |
| BERNARDO | One man or another covering a way inside (8) |
| JOSTLE | Joel struggling to find way inside at a push (6) |
