Inheritance Tax: Save £100,000s with simple advanced planning Article Discussion

PaulAbroad

Hi Harry
thanks for replying.

Yes my father was resident and domiciled in the uk.

He was 72 years old.

Im not too sure about CGT etc, i have just been told that we are to pay tax and it falls under the heading of IHT.

harryhound

Thanks Paul,

I'm just an amateur on this board, with a little practical experience.
Would I be right in thinking you already have had a solicitor on the job for several months? In which case you might get the reply "why pay a dog and bark yourself?" . Though I probably know how you feel, having been a major beneficiary of a relative's will and being told NOTHING of what was going on. (I had to search the probate registry, back in the days BC (before computers) and eventually buy my own copy of the will and probate, and pay a solicitor to tell me what it said :mad:)

Before some of those with far more expertise than I come along, it might be an idea to start your own thread and give a full list of information.

Family tree (false names obviously)?.
Date of death?.
Distribution of estate?.
List and value of assets?
Ditto liabilities?
Odities such as trusts (pension funds), agricultural land, charities etc.? ,
Living spouse? Amount left to mum?
Dead spouse? Date of death? Value of spouse's estate and amount not given to dad.
Gifts in the 7 years before death?
The list goes on and on.

You could look at the HMRC web site and/or the web sites of will writers, to get an idea of all the variables that could effect the outcome and tax on an estate from a given will. Then formulate your own thread and list of questions.

Simplistic it aint.

Harry.

force4

Hello

If I receive money from abroad, from a grandparent who is alive and lives in the UK, do I need to pay a tax to bring it into the country? I'm not even sure it falls under inheritance tax! Thanks

Pee

force4 wrote: »

Hello

If I receive money from abroad, from a grandparent who is alive and lives in the UK, do I need to pay a tax to bring it into the country? I'm not even sure it falls under inheritance tax! Thanks

No, it does not fall under Inheritance Tax, unless it is a gift from the grandparent who dies within seven years. Income Tax may be the issue here.

SeniorSam

Very well said......... shouldn't try to solict business but offer advice freely or dont contribute at all. Surely they are not so hard up for busines...... or are they?

Sam

MickyBlue_3

I haven't read anywhere on here about the increase in the threshold. Inheritance Tax threshold is now £325000. My wife is a will writer and I think she writes 2 different types of trust to reduce/eliminate inheritance tax.

Moneypenny100

Hi All,

Just less then 2 weeks ago I suddendly lost my lovely dad.

My dad was very secretive with family paperwork and now my bother and I find ourselves in a situation where we are having to go thru paperwork which we have never seen or unaware of previously. Sadly our mum has been kept at a distance so can only provide us with limited information on how dad use to run the daily and long term finances.

Please could some tell me where do I begin as I want mum to get everything having spent 40 years of married life. Obviously I want to avoid IHT.

To date this is where I am>>>

• Will - have yet to locate although mum remembers drawing up one with dad possibly 8/10yrs ago.
• House - family home still on mortgage with a 8 yr repayment remaining.
• Bank Account - Joint account which oversees all monthly expenses.
• Savings / Shares - some in joint names others singulaur.
• Policies - Life Cover (have contacted for forms). Endownment still in place.

I need to know what to do as I'm coming across the info as already I starting to feel worried about how I'm going to cope in sorting out for mum. Any help, advise much appreciated.

Thanks

John_Pierpoint

Hi Moneypenny100,

Sorry to hear the sad news of your father's death.
I lost my father while my sister was still at school, so I have had a lifetime of experience of living with the consequences of the situation, where you now find yourself.

I also have a 9 month start on your situation, because my uncle died last September and I posted a question above just after your discussion about making a will of your own.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1164505

I've now emerged the other side of the process and apart from selling an old Victorian house in Hampton Court and finally settling up with the Inheritance Tax people in Nottingham, I'm home and dry.
I too was left a record keeping muddle. Were I to do the task again obviously I have learned a few things and would do it slightly differently.

The secret is to get started, as the longer you leave it the worse it gets as things snowball (cheques you cannot cash arrive, the "highwaymen" running the banks reduce the interest on savings to 0.1%, the local authority continues to charge double occupant Council Tax etc. etc. - that is assuming none of your mother's children still live in the family home)

"Which?" do good good books on the subject - but check to see if they have been updated for the sharing of nil rate IHT between spouses in Autumn 2007 and for the introduction of new IHT400 series of self assessment style tax forms.

Other than that, it is just a matter of plodding through a day and a step at a time while recognising when you need to seek professional advice.

Start now and don't forget you will need to settle your father's income tax deadlines up to his date of death (and hopefully get a bit of a refund).

Feel free to send me a Private Message if you need a second opinion on any particular points.

John

PS Anyone got a "fact find" list of questions for Moneypenny100?

nikim1978

Hi,

My parents are considering moving out of their 3 bedroom house with large garden, into a smaller flat within the next 5-10 years to avoid growing too old to look after the house/ garden. They have asked us (myself (only child) plus my husband and son) if we would like to move into their house, sell our house and purchase a flat for them, taking on the difference (between what we would make on our house & what they would like to pay for their new flat) as a new mortgage. I am wondering whether this would essentially mean that they were 'gifting' us their house, thus avoiding IHT. Please could someone advise? Many thanks.

bully123

Hi,could anybody enlighten me on my situation regarding inherittance tax ..? My mother died in November last year and although there are 3 beneficeries,myself, my sister and brother, although my sister has taken out a mortgage on mums house (dad passed away in 2002), the house worth in the region of £160,000.00, the value will be split 3 ways,but only my brother and i will actually recieve £40,000.00 each, as we have let my sister have the the house for £120,000.00 and her share coming of her mortgage ie £80,000.00.
Now ill come to the question that is bothering us, will me and my brother be taxed on the £40,000.00 were both going to gain from the windfall Many thanks Carl



Ps Claimed £2500 charges back from Natwest (took 2yrs) and had to go down the hardship line, bit took 3 weeks then... DONT GIVE UP TRYING...:T:beer::rotfl: