Inheritance & Tax Planning
At Clarke & Son, our experienced solicitors can offer advice and information surrounding inheritance and tax planning, including disputes.
We generally leave it for the accountants to complete personal Tax Returns and to advise on income and capital gains tax (“CGT”). We do however advise on Inheritance Tax Planning and also we deal with income tax and CGT when administering estates.
Inheritance Tax is one of our main considerations when assisting clients in Will drafting and asset protection and also when administering the estates of deceased clients and advising their families and beneficiaries.
Free Initial Consultation
We offer an initial free consultation to talk you through inheritance and taxation, get in touch to talk to one of the team.
Inheritance Tax
Inheritance Tax (“IHT”) is a form of tax which is payable on an individual’s estate when they die. IHT can also however become due during a person’s lifetime if they gift in excess of their Nil Rate Band away during their life.
As the law currently stands, everybody has £325,000 (“the Nil Rate Band”) by way of a tax free band which means if our estate falls within this allowance no Inheritance Tax will be paid out of the estate. When an individual marries or enters into a Civil Partnership the surviving spouse will inherit the percentage of the unused Nil Rate Band (“NRB”) from the deceased spouse’s estate thus potentially doubling their own NRB to £650,000.
However if a person’s estate falls outside the NRB a 40% charge is incurred on the estate which falls outside the NRB and this level has been set until April 2018.
In cases where a % of an estate is left to charity there are occasions where the 40% tax charge can be reduced to 36%.
There are further issues that affect IHT such as gifting. Some gifts are exempt from IHT and there is the introduction of the new Residential Nil Rate Band which is due for Royal Assent in December 2015 and which should give an increased allowance to homeowners from 2017. Further information is included on this website concerning the Residential Nil Rate Band.
Inheritance Disputes
It is an extremely difficult time when someone dies and you do not agree with the way an estate is being administered. We offer a free initial consultation to discuss a number of issues people face when dealing with estates including:
- A feeling you have not been adequately provided for by a loved one / someone you depended on
- A feeling a Will is invalid as the Deceased made it under duress
- A feeling a Will is invalid as the Deceased did not know what they were doing
- You have been informed someone wants to make an Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependants) Act 1975 claim
- There is a dispute between the personal representatives
- There is a trustee dispute
- There is an issue concerning the validity of a Will
These are merely an example of the types of issues which can give rise to an inheritance dispute. There are many more and if you want to have a chat to see whether you need legal support please come and meet with one of our Specialists.
Wills & Estate Planning Team
Contact Details
If you have any questions or would like to enquire about one of our services, please fill in the enquiry form below and one of the team will get back to you.
