Inheritance Tax & Estate Planning
Once thought to be just a tax on the rich, rising house prices have caused unexpected Inheritance Tax (IHT) problems for an increasing number of people. In the last 5 years, the number of households potentially liable to IHT has nearly tripled to just over 2 million and reports suggest that this will rise to 3.6 million by 2009.
To help address this, Chancellor Alistair Darling announced an important change to the rules on Inheritance Tax ‘nil rate bands’as part of his October 2007 pre-Budget statement.
The ‘nil-rate band’ for inheritance tax is currently £312,000 per person (tax year 2008/9), and the proposed change will enable married couples and civil partners as well as widows and their late spouses to combine their inheritance tax allowances, effectively enabling joint Estates of up to £624,000 to be free from Inheritance Tax.
But IHT is not the only potential threat to your Estate. Local Authorities are now able to claim 100% of your assets above a threshold of £13,500 towards the costs of Long Term Care, which could have a devastating effect on the value of your Estate.
Take Advice
The good news is that, with careful planning, your Estate can be protected from the costs of Long Term Care. Inheritance Tax can also be greatly reduced or even mitigated altogether.
Estate Planning also allows you to exert greater control over who will inherit your belongings and the circumstances in which it will happen. For example, would you want your children to receive their inheritance at a time when they are going through a divorce if they could potentially lose some of the proceeds as part of the financial settlement?
How can we help?
There are a number of solutions that can be used either in isolation or as part of an overall package to help you plan your Estate as efficiently and effectively as possible including:
- Will Writing
- Equalisation of Assets
- Annual Allowances
- Potentially Exempt Transfers
- Strategic use of Trusts and Insurance
Some of these solutions will involve working with a solicitor or legal adviser and it is important that these are 'project managed' to ensure that all the different solutions work together.
As Estate Planning specialists, we can provide advice in all these areas, coordinate the implementation of each solution and review these with you on a regular basis, to ensure they remain appropriate and up to date.
Interested?
For more information on Inheritance Tax and Estate Planning or a personal consultation please call us on 0800 328 0867 or request a call back by clicking here.
To request a free copy of our 16 page Estate Planning Guide click here.
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