Estate Planning and Inheritance Tax Planning
Inheritance Tax (IHT) is a widely misunderstood tax and a tax that you can volunteer to pay — or not
FICTION: There’s a notion abroad that to escape IHT you must be prepared to sacrifice your financial security by kissing goodbye to your capital and giving it to your family while you’re still alive. That’s simply not true.
FACT: By using the right strategies you can still retain access and control of your capital and shield it from any potential IHT liabilities.
What is true about IHT…
- If the value of your estate is more than £325,000 (£650,000 for married couples and civil partners) any amount above that figure will be subject to a maximum IHT tax charge of 40%
- The value of your estate is the sum total of everything you own — less any allowable debts or other liabilities
- Inheritance Tax has to be paid no later than six months after the end of the month of death
- Ensure that pensions and life insurance polices are written in trust otherwise they will included in your estate
- Make a will, otherwise your estate will be shared out in a strict order of priority according to the ‘rules of intestacy’
- You have to be alive to make acceptable arrangements to avoid paying IHT
- There’s nothing to stop you spending your wealth — every last penny if you want — or disposing of other assets so as to reduce the taxable value of your estate
Please click here to download our free guide on IHT
Ray and his team have been looking after my financial affairs for some years now, initially they dealt with my pensions. However more recently they have used protective trusts to ensure our assets pass securely and also ensured that there will be no inheritance tax to pay. I would rate Ray and his team at UnaVida as 9.5 out of 10, as no-one is perfect – but they come pretty close!
AWH
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