Who pays IHT?

goingcrazy101

Further on from my previous post about my dads wife, who is being difficult to say the least! She is now insisting that we (as children and beneficiaries of the will) were liable to pay the IHT value on what we were left and we should be bowing down to her because she paid it for us and is being oh so generous.
I have sent her the Money Advise Service link, which states that the estate is liable to pay IHT. (It won't let me post it but it is a guide to IHT with a sub heading of 'who pays IHT?'
Her response is that this website is out of context and we are wrong. I have spoken to a solicitor and we are meeting in the new year to hopefully move on with this as we are still yet to see the will and are being told that we are being sheltered from this because it is what Dad would have wanted, well I for sure would never appreciate my children to be dragged through almost a year of this bull spewing from her mouth.
We are all adults here, except seemingly her, who's main response is I cannot talk about this right now. I just would really appreciate some solid advise on where I stand if anyone could point me in any direction of info or if someone has experienced something similar.
Many thanks.

Crabapple

Yes, ordinarily the estate pays the IHT. This means that if you are due a share of residue then that share is calculated after the IHT has been paid.

Sometimes the will states that a beneficiary must pay the IHT but usually only where they receive a valuable asset they are not going to sell such as a house or previously received a large gift.

Order a copy of the will from the probate registry in any event.

Keep_pedalling

You are correct in that the estate pays the bill, but, assuming the estate is simply split between his wife and his children, any IHT due will come out of the children’s share as her share will be exempt.

Margot123

What a terrible situation to be in. It would appear emotions are being used as a tool, as they so often are in these cases.

As you have already said that you are going to meet with a solicitor, perhaps your post is more of a vent of frustration.

Instead of speculating, maybe just sit back and try to switch off until your meeting. Enjoy the festivities (if you partake of them).

Linton

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

You are correct in that the estate pays the bill, but, assuming the estate is simply split between his wife and his children, any IHT due will come out of the children’s share as her share will be exempt.

After a bit of thought...

Is this true? If the will simply said 1/4 each to my wife and 3 children and the childrens share was greater than £325K wouldn't the estate pay the IHT and so each beneficiary would see a reduction?

On the other hand if the wife was the residual beneficiary wouldn't she by definition pay all the IHT due out of her share, again assuming the children's share was greater than £325K?

Enterprise_1701C

Has the will gone through probate?

You should be able to get a copy from the Probate Court. After a person dies, his will is usually filed in the probate court in the jurisdiction where he last resided. You may obtain a copy of that will by paying a copying fee, often with a written request form, to the clerk of the probate court.

I find it rather strange that you have not seen a copy of the will, after the death of my step-grandmother and after the death of my father, on each occasion a copy of the will was automatically sent out by the solicitor handling the will.

Ben_Fogles_Dog

Just wanted to note that it is possible she paid the IHT. It has to be paid in advance in order for probate to be obtained and as there is no access to the estate until probate is obtained this has to be met from elsewhere (your own savings or a loan) - could this be what she is referring to?

getmore4less

I think you need to fill the gap between the last thread and this one.

goingcrazy101

Sorry have been crazy busy with work over the holidays, we have yet to see the will (have essentially been told what it says but don't trust her word enough to believe it 100%.), it has not been split equally 4 ways, with no cash being left to us, if I was to hazard a guess it would be 75% to her and 25% split between 3. It also hasn't been through probate so unfortunately not available to buy online, but I am checking regularly so will know as soon as it has.

I have a meeting with a local solicitor but still unsure whether it would be better to go with a more London based firm that seem to be more aimed at acrimonious probate/contesting wills etc with the downside of minimal dealings in person. Personal opinions?

Yorkshireman99

goingcrazy101 wrote: »

Sorry have been crazy busy with work over the holidays, we have yet to see the will (have essentially been told what it says but don't trust her word enough to believe it 100%.), it has not been split equally 4 ways, with no cash being left to us, if I was to hazard a guess it would be 75% to her and 25% split between 3. It also hasn't been through probate so unfortunately not available to buy online, but I am checking regularly so will know as soon as it has.

I have a meeting with a local solicitor but still unsure whether it would be better to go with a more London based firm that seem to be more aimed at acrimonious probate/contesting wills etc with the downside of minimal dealings in person. Personal opinions?

You may need to consult a solictor who does contentious probate work. Shop around. Ask how she can have paid the IHT if she has not applied for probate? Either she is telling porkies or does not know what she is doing.

Linton

I dont see how you can contest some unknown future distribution of a will you havent seen.