Any advice for me??????????????

chrismac1

Unless your parents both die suddenly IHT is not a big deal yet, as it does not apply between spouses. However, on the second death the tax bill must be paid before anything is released to the benficiaries, and one thing any decent advisor in the file will advise you is to think about a life insurance policy to cover the IHT bill on the second death.

I have a local guy I recommend to clients who ask for this sort of advice, based in Carlisle. He's been very good so far. There is also a specialist wills advisor locally who can sort out tax-efficient wills. There ought to be people like this in your neck of the woods, even if an accountant can't help you directly a decent one should have people he or she can recommend.

xylophone

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/inheritancetax/pass-money-property/intro-iht-plannning.htm
You or rather your parents need advice from a solicitor experienced in wills and trusts and/or an accountant specializing in tax planning. Try the STEP website http://www.step.org/ or Chartered Institute of Taxation website. http://www.tax.org.uk/

sarahk100574

Toff wrote: »

I have spoken to a few accountants but as soon as I get technical with my questions they seem clueless and tell me to find an accountant that specialises in it which I am yet to find.

Very often it is surprising as the forums seem to have more good advice than the so called 'experts'.

Can anyone recommend an expert in this field, one that truly knows it all about this subject, one that won't just pass me on to the next person?

Or it could be that the accountants you have approached know that this is a highly specialised area, and one that most small accountants are not fully skilled in.... which is why they tell you to seek that advice from an expert. (Would you take your ferrari to the local garage for repairs??!)

Forum users on the other hand have nothing to lose by giving bad/wrong advice....

IHT is a minefield - trust rules change - situations change - no two etates are exactly the same etc etc!

For a £4 million + estate, a few hundred pounds spent now on a specialist IHT planning adviser will be the best money you ever spend! Start by googling one in your area/nearest major city. :beer:

getmore4less

There is more than just the IHT issue here.

There is a large active business that needs to be managed going forward.

It would make sence to have a proper plan for that as well as parents become less able to manage it.

Toff

getmore4less wrote: »

There is a large active business that needs to be managed going forward.

It would make sence to have a proper plan for that as well as parents become less able to manage it.

That side is already sorted, I run a property management business for a living specialising in looking after 150 buy to lets for landlords living abroad. Have done for over 11 years. I have been unofficially looking after the maintenance side of my folks property for years, it is me that attends at 3am on a winters morning when the call comes about burst pipes etc. And yes before anyone asks, I dont charge them a penny.

Cook_County

If dad has a domicile of origin in Cyprus and breaks his deemed domicile he could save large amounts of IHT by leaving the UK and with a good trust structure.

Travelqueen

As the previous poster said, what you should probably be looking into is trusts.

When my GreatAunt was getting on, and she sadly died aged 87 last year, she decided to put her assets into a trust for her nieces and nephews, so that they would be able to mitigate the tax loss when she died.

She didn't want to 'cheat' the taxman, and I would like to point out that the profit made from selling her house was all given to charity before people make judgements!

Anyway, the point being that you entrust your assets to someone / a group of people and as long as you don't die within 7 years of making the gift into a trust there is no tax payable on the gift. I'm no tax lawyer or specialist, that is just my understanding.

It is something my parents and I have talked about, but at the moment their combined assets would be below the 350K pp threshold so for us its not an issue. (I believe the allowance is 350Kpp and hence 700k per couple, but I could be wrong / things could have changed)

Worth looking into, and if you are running the properties as a business I don't see why you shouldn't minimise your tax, all the big boys do it all the time, so why not keep secure the nest-egg your parents have worked hard to build up? Obviously you hope this is all simply chat and they are around for a good couple of decades longer but there is nothing wrong with being prepared, good on you and best of luck!