Gifting out of excess income to save on Inheritance Tax – are you making the most of your financial position?
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Due to the freeze on inheritance tax thresholds announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in the Autumn Statement 2022, a record number of estates are now liable to paying tax, which is charged at the rate of 40% on the sum above any available allowances. As reported in my earlier article when the Autumn Statement […]
Cohabitation and Later Life Planning
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The number of couples opting to live with one another without entering into a marriage or civil partnership is on the rise. Unfortunately, there are many couples who are unaware of their legal rights as they are under the impression, they have the fallback of being a ‘common law wife/husband’. This is a myth. Currently, […]
Digital LPAs and why, for now, we are not using them
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There was a recent piece on the Radio 4 program ‘Money Box’ about the difficulties many have encountered trying to use the digital certificate given at the end of the digitally drafted ‘Lasting Powers of Attorney form creation process’, presumably for Property and Finance, with various banks and other financial institutions. It is probably fair […]
Technology and Domestic Violence
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You may be aware that domestic abuse comes in many different forms and whilst this may manifest as threatened or actual violence whether physical or sexual, there are many other patterns of behaviour that constitute abuse including coercive and economic control, and psychological abuse. The Government has defined domestic abuse as “any incident of controlling, […]
Illustration of ‘unexpected Capital Gains Tax issues’ arising…
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Once, a divorced mother made a Will leaving her estate to her children. The house was her main asset. She died some years back and her Will was probated. The house was registered in the names of the adult children at the Land Registry. One of them moved in, with the other’s agreement. Years later, […]
Does my Divorce give me a financial clean break?
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It’s a commonly held misconception that the divorce resolves all issues between the parties. However, this is not the case. Please note that the new terminology of the Court which refers to the Final Order of Divorce (which used to be called the Decree Absolute) is not also a Final Order in relation to the […]
The LPA amendment Bill – what it means for you and yours
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The Bill to reform the law on making lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) in England and Wales has been published and received its second reading in parliament on 9 December 2022. LPAs are a specific type of power of attorney with a wider scope than ordinary Powers of Attorney. LPAs allow someone to appoint another […]
To gift or not to gift? The impact of the Autumn Statement on Inheritance Tax
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Today’s Autumn Statement saw Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, announce what had been predicted by many – an extension to the freeze on the Inheritance Tax Nil Rate Band allowance – amongst other financial measures. The Nil Rate Band allowance has been fixed at its current level of £325,000 per individual since 2009 and […]
Life assurance policies and investments written in trust – what happens next?
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Many people will only come across trusts when they are being discussed in the same breath as life insurance policies, whether those are true protection products or investments structured as a life assurance policy, in the context of the investment/life assurance being ‘written in trust’. These days it’s very simple for such financial products to […]