Receipt of unexpected sums of money can be very pleasing. Such windfalls can often be saved for the future ‘rainy day’ How sad it would be therefore if you passed on before the ‘rainy day’ arrived and the capital did not find its way to those you love. A Will is a simple and relatively […]
Tag Archives | Wills Asset Protection Trusts Lifetime Property Protection Trusts Probate Work Powers of Attorney
Trusts
So what Trusts can I use to protect my assets on death? There are several types of Trusts you can put in your Will to ensure your assets at death will reach your chosen beneficiaries. Firstly there is a Property Protection Trust which can provide a protective shelter for the value of your home allowing […]
Thereby hangs a Parliament
With the results of the General Election now available there is no political party with an overall majority. This means a Hung Parliament This will make it difficult for the largest party to implement its manifesto policies. It is therefore reasonable to expect little change in the foreseeable future to either the burden of social […]
Stealth Tax -U-turn
It has now been announced that the Government is not to proceed with the increase in the costs of obtaining Probate. These increases were due to be introduced at the beginning of May but have now been withdrawn. The protest from government back benchers combined with the forthcoming General Election were the probable reasons for […]
Up they Go
A new system of Probate Charges to be introduced in May will see them rocket upwards. The fee payable to Government by Executors of a Will for permission to administer the estate of a deceased person will now be based on a sliding scale. For estates valued between £50000 and £300000 the fee will be […]
The Cost of Probate
Whilst Inheritance Tax has been subjected to additional relief from 2017 there are plans afoot to increase the cost of obtaining probate. Executors of Wills need a grant of probate before dealing with the property, money and possessions of a deceased person. The current flat rate cost of £215 is set to increase in varying […]
Planning for Death
Death is not something we want to consider or plan for. After all we never really believe it will happen to us. It is however inevitable and even worse than that, it is unpredictable. We do plan for the future though. A job, a marriage, a house purchase, children are all parts of a plan for […]
Political Promises
One party has promised an increase in the basic rate relief for Inheritance Tax. For married couples and civil partners they are increasing the joint thresholds from the present £650k to £1m based on the value of their residence. They herald it as a major boost for Inheritance. Unfortunately when examined the additional relief only […]
Pension Pot Perils
With the new legislation on Pension Pot withdrawals coming into force from April 2015 there are considerable risks for those who take out large lump sums. The immediate effect is to increase the value of your estate for Inheritance Tax purposes. A large withdrawal from your pension pot added together with the value of the […]
Triple Taxation
Tess Daly, the host of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ has attacked Britain’s disgraceful and insulting inheritance tax laws. In a recent magazine article she states that in effect Inheritance Tax is triple taxation. Tax is paid on earnings, Stamp duty is paid on Property purchase and then Inheritance Tax is paid on any of those you […]