Death, minimising tax and trust funds

Atticus_1970

Hello - virgin poster and apologies if this is in the wrong forum.

I need some help please. I have a friend who has asked for my assistance.

Very briefly:
He lost his wife a few weeks ago and has children that he wants to provide for.

As well as life insurance/death in service/pension(?) regarding his wife he's been given some money from friends/relatives for the children.

He wants me to help him work out what his options are as he moves forward.

I have no details from him - yet. But I assume
1. that anything that was paid out on the death of his wife won't attract tax (the pensions, life insurance etc),
2. Joint accounts are also 'several' so that any balance transfers to him,
3. Accounts in her name are subject to the will and therefore taxable should the estate be over the limit
4. Transfers between spouses are not taxable.

Can someone please point me in the right direction re forms/websites/things to consider re the estate generally and providing for the kids specifically. I need some guidance on the nuts and bolts of setting up a fund (or similar) and also tax minimisiation strategies. Are there any tax implications regarding the gifts of cash made to my friend for the children?

thank you

John_Pierpoint

You have some muddled concepts here especially about the way that Inheritance Tax (IHT) works.
Assuming that you live in England and Wales (Scotland is also included but different) I would invest £20 in these three books.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Giving-Inheriting-Which-Essential-Guides/dp/1844901181/ref=pd_sim_b_5

Settle down for a hard weekend's study (cold towel round head is optional) and see if the two of you can get hold of the basics.

When you have the figures for the estate, the details (wealth & income) of the man and the children, then we could make specific suggestions.

It is difficult to make an annual profit in these difficult times and getting cost effective professional advice on managing a modest fund is near impossible.