Someone once said there are only two things certain in life – 'Death and Taxes'.
Well our aim in providing Estate Planning Services is to try and ensure that the Tax element is kept to the absolute legal minimum!
We also aim to provide a smooth route to ensure your estate passes to your beneficiaries without difficulty.
We will need to obtain full details of your assets from all sources in order that we can best advise you upon what steps are available to mitigate the threat of any Tax liability falling on your estate and family.
WE ALL WANT TO BE REMEMBERED BY OUR FAMILY …. BUT NOT AS THE PERSON WHO LEFT THEM A HUGE TAX LIABILITY!
SOME CLIENTS WILL ONLY TAKE ACTION WHEN TIME HAS RUN OUT.
We approach Estate Planning by advising on a range of planning opportunities, such as:
Inheritance tax is only payable where the estate of the person who died is valued over £325,000. £325,000 is the level set for the current tax year, also called the Inheritance Tax threshold. Where an estate is worth at least £325,000, the amount over this is taxed at 40%. A persons estate is the value of all their possessions and property and includes gifts made during the seven years before their death. There are certain assets which will NOT form part of their estate though, and this can include life assurance policies which are written in trust for another person, or jointly held assets such as property. Since October 2007, married couples and civil partners can have a joint Inheritance Tax threshold of £650,000 during the current tax year. If on the first death, the allowance was not used, then the executors or personal representatives can transfer the first unused portion of the allowance to the second spouse or civil partner when they die The Budget has recently introduced further amendments to the Inheritance tax rules which provide additional allowances in respect of the family home passing on death.