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Inheritance Tax - Trusts are they worth doing ?
Every time I get into a discussion about inheritance Tax the subject of Trusts always arises. Surely the HMRC and current government are not that stupid, are they a means to reduce IHT or just another money spinner for the providers ?
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Paying Bequests from Interest
A few months ago I stumbled on something on a charity's site and wish I'd made a note of it. From memory it said something to the effect that the executors could pay a bequest using just the interest (or income) from the estate. This would mean HMRC would reduce the tax liability. Is this a real thing? If it is, can…
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UK Probate disaster
From day one I received nothing short of terrible and egregious conduct in every possible way regarding UK probate. Neolithic incompetence is one way to describe it. Outright crooks is another. No responses to complaints, snowflake replies when I registered my disgust and upset, still no refund regarding their screw up…
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Will trust
Not sure if a will trust is the right idea , I want to leave 50% to my daughter from previous marriage on my death , the house is in my sole name , this was for mortgage purposes, it is now mortgage free , can I leave 50% to my husband ? The company who will set it up are saying it will not be protected if I need to go in…
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Impossible to be certain that all deceased accounts have been traced?
Hi My friend passed away in 2020 and I was one of two executors, as the other one was in another part of the UK, and I was also the main beneficiary, I was happy to deal with the estate. My friend had multiple bank accounts and also dabbled in Peer-2-Peer lending, but eventually the estate was settled and all beneficiaries…
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Swift probate turnaround
This may assist others? Applied probate online 30 July. Received email today (13 August) to say it had been granted - just two weeks later. Admittedly they then said it woukd take up to 10 days for the grant docs to arrive by post...
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My wife and i have just changed our house tenancy from joint tenants to tenants in common
My wife and i have just changed our house tenancy from joint tenants to tenants in common, as part of our will to our one and only son, and now we are wondering whether this will affect our inheritance tax allowance??
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UK resident inheriting foreign asset
Hello, If I (UK citizen and resident who has never lived elsewhere) inherit a property in Portugal from my father who was a Portuguese citizen and resident and never lived in the UK, does it result in me having to pay inheritance tax?
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Applying for joint executorship vs court direction
Hello my sister and i are both named as joint executors in my late mums will. Unknown to me my sister applied for sole probate with power reserved to me but I am concerned about her delay in dealing with distribution of assets - she is refusing to market the properties and wants to purchase herself but doesn't have the…
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New Gov.uk Probate Application
I am wondering how many people have used the new gov.uk probate application online? Are they finding it a quicker / Straightforward service? I submitted the requested original will with my application the 3rd week of August. Currently it's still on the documents received (step 2). Personally I found it very straightforward…
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Parental home proceeds to children via surviving parent
Mother sold the parental home on step fathers death (below IHT threshold) and shared part proceeds with children (30K each) just under 3 years before her recent demise. Whilst I believe such proceeds direct on death of one parent may be Nil Rate, this was indirect? and may be seen as PETS (potentially Exempt Transfers)…
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Help please with probate/ Letters of Administration claim
Hello ,I really hope someone may be able to help or advise with my situation .The basics facts are these -my father died in 2013 leaving no Will and his only asset being his house that he owned with my mother as joint tenants .As the house passed automatically to my mother there was no probate and the house was simply…
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Probate - super efficient 2025
For anyone wondering how long this can take - this is my experience :smile: 13 Aug online probate application submitted 14 Aug documents sent in post 21 Aug official notification of documents recd 24 Aug Probate granted Just 11 days !
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Possible Executor of an Insolvent Parent
Hi All This is a conundrum! I hope someone can help with. My father has passed away leaving a fair old mess behind. If he has an estate of about 300,000 but has a HMRC bill of 750,000+ What might happen I wonder, will HMRC go after the estate and take all what it can? Leaving a zero balance and deficit? We have not done…
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Wording of Will
A relative is making a Will. He has no dependants so it should be fairly simple. His daughter has always relied on the support of the benefits system and this is unlikely to change. He doesn't wish to entirely disinherit but also doesn't want to leave her in a position whereby leaving her a gift affects the benefits she is…
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Inheritance tax and marriage
A hypothetical question...I understand that an individual has an IHT allowance of £325,000 and if they are married and then die (or their partner dies) the survivor can inherit the dead partner's allowance, thus giving them an effective allowance of £650,000. And yes, the allowance can be greater if direct children…
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I Think I Need to Appoint a Firm of Solicitors as Executors for My Will.....
I've procrastinated long enough and I really need to get a will written. But...... I'm going to need to appoint a firm of solicitors to be my executors. Although I've read some horrendous stories about solictors being executors, ie expensive fees, long drawn out timescales etc etc however I don't think I have a viable…
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Independent Executor Bank Account
To date I have handled estate expenses via a personal non-interest bearing bank account in my name. I expect Probate to be granted shortly and a significant sum will be deposited. Ideally I'd like to move the funds to an interest bearing account which would be completely distinct from my own finances. That way I can show…
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Gifts and the seven year rule
I am thinking of leaving a subsiantial gift to my grand chilgren, and I would like to keep this a secret until they are 25 years old, when I will probably be dead. I do not want to tell anybody about this, (as I want them to have a nice surprise), and just leave a note with my will telling my executor where the gifts can…
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Posthumous inheritance and subsequent IHT
Pls can I ask a question. This isn’t for me but for a friend and I couldn’t find the answer online so hope you can help. If they didn’t use all of the £650k on their last parent’s death and then posthumously that parent inherited a property and assets which then came to them (following that parent’s will), would they now…
