Is Inheritance Tax About to be Abolished?

January 26th 2024 | estate planning
We don't gamble in the private wealth department, especially on something as capricious (in recent times at least) as Conservative tax policy. But if we were gamblers, my money would very much be on 'no'. It is worth unpacking this though. There has been a lot of noise recently around read more...

Can I Change My Spouse’s Will After Their Death?

November 17th 2023 | estate planning
In short the answer is no, you cannot rewrite someone’s Will after they have died. Whilst you cannot change a Will following someone’s death, you might be able to vary the tax treatment of a gift and subsequently your entitlement from a Will after someone has died. Read on to read more...

Should I Put My House Into Trust?

October 11th 2023 | estate planning
Putting your home in trust, and whether or not that is a good idea is something that has been mentioned in a few of our earlier blogs, but it is such an involved topic that it really needs to be discussed in a stand alone blog. As mentioned in earlier read more...

Inheritance Tax Cuts?

October 4th 2023 | estate planning
Someone may want to have a word with Rishi Sunak about his mooted cuts to the "puntive and unfair" inheritance tax (IHT). & no, not only because it will do estate planners like me out of work.. The argument that IHT is unfair is a pretty simple one: Any wealth read more...

When Tax Planning Goes Wrong!

September 20th 2023 | estate planning
Here in the Wealth Management and Taxation department, we love a good tax planning wheeze. However, as we frequently advise clients, there are wheezes and then there are wheezes (by which, I do of course mean opaque schemes that feel a bit icky and seem bound to fail at some read more...

What Are The Inheritance Tax (IHT) Implications Of Not Being Married?

September 14th 2023 | estate planning
Marriage isn’t for everyone.  Some are quite happy being single.  Others are happy living together as a couple without ever feeling the need to formalise their arrangement by marriage or civil partnership.   In the modern world we live in, it might seem odd that being married could save you thousands, read more...

Taxes on Lifetime Gifts

June 20th 2023 | estate planning
If you are considering making a gift to someone, you need to consider the various tax implications that can arise. These can in some cases impact whether or not you are in a position to make the gift at all. Inheritance Tax Most people are aware of the seven year read more...

Lasting Power of Attorney- Update

May 18th 2023 | estate planning
There has long been a subtle issue for attorneys acting under a financial power of attorney. This centred around the fact that attorneys are not permitted to delegate their discretion, as they are managing someone else's funds. The pattern of thought has historically been that they should actively manage these, read more...

Should I Give Away My Home To Save Inheritance Tax?

March 22nd 2023 | estate planning
For most people, their home is their most valuable asset. With the average house price in Buckinghamshire topping £520,000 (and higher in London) it is unsurprising that people often consider giving away their homes during their lifetimes to reduce their inheritance tax liability. There are however some very real risks read more...

Inheritance Tax Nil Rate Band to Remain Frozen Until 2028

November 8th 2022 | estate planning
Private Client lawyers have long been used to a frozen Inheritance Tax (IHT) threshold (known as the nil rate band). An individual's nil rate band has remained at a constant £325,000 since April 2009 (£650,000 for married couples).   Prior to that date, the threshold had increased on a yearly basis, read more...

Remember a Charity Week

September 7th 2022 | estate planning
Things are a bit grim out there. We are all tightening our belts and watching as costs of daily essentials skyrocket. Time will tell what our new Prime Minister can do to help people with their everyday costs and expenses, however experience has told us that, when times get hardest read more...

The Residential Nil Rate Band – Not All It’s Cracked Up to Be

August 18th 2022 | estate planning
The residential nil rate band was introduced in 2017. At the time, it was hailed as the additional inheritance tax allowance needed to combat rising house prices which were tipping average estates into the grips of the inheritance tax regime. Unfortunately the allowance has never been the easiest thing to read more...

Santa Baby: Gifting Allowances this Christmas

December 21st 2021 | estate planning
It’s that time of the year again so let's talk gifting allowances. For those of you who are feeling generous during the festive season, or know someone with a hefty Christmas Wish List, then the amount gifted over the Christmas period can have an impact on the inheritance tax allowances read more...

Care Fee Mitigation

November 17th 2021 | estate planning
Back in January I wrote this blog , which gained significant traction on social media and a number of enquiries to the firm in respect of asset protection trusts. I was very pleased to have been able to prevent some clients from entering into these documents, but sadly I did hear read more...

Gift Exemptions: Inheritance Tax

August 31st 2021 | estate planning
OK, let's talk gifting allowance for inheritance tax. This is a topic that I see a lot of clients get very confused about, whether it's for their lifetime planning or as executors completing an IHT400 where there have been gifts during the deceased’s lifetime.  There were 4 ways in which read more...

STEP Success for Ashley Minott

August 27th 2021 | estate planning
Earlier this month, my associate Ashley Minott  received confirmation that she had passed her final STEP exam and is now entitled to the designation ‘TEP’ (Trust and Estate Practitioner). Ashley becomes a full member of STEP (The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) having completed their diploma in Tax and read more...

Can You Resign As An Executor?

August 16th 2021 | estate planning
The role of an executor is not something to be taken lightly. In an earlier blog I discussed some of the pitfalls that can arise for executors and the risks associated with the role .  However, what people often fail to realise is that, once you start to act as read more...

Planning For Later Life: Is Your Care Home Inclusive?

June 29th 2021 | estate planning
Estate planning and all that it entails affects different people in different ways. From years of first hand experience l had a pretty good idea of what to write for our Pride series, as estate planning for the LGBT+ community can, and usually does, raise a variety of complex and read more...

Bernie's Plight (How to Avoid an Inheritance Dispute)

May 18th 2021 | estate planning
I recently came across this advert, which I think speaks for itself. Bernie, I have no idea who you are, but firstly I feel for your plight. Having witnessed many a family bust up over inheritance, I can vouch from the frontline they are always a miserable affair (and that read more...
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