Estate Planning and Wills - Don't Give it to Gordon!

It is likely that more and more people will be affected by inheritance tax when we die, particularly if property prices continue to increase. The current threshold for inheritance tax is £275,000 and, although this will increase over the coming years, it is unlikely to increase enough to make a significant impact on the possible inheritance tax bill.

Peter Hamilton, Partner at Tinsdills says:

“I don’t know about you, but I would much rather leave my estate to my family rather than leave a significant chunk of my estate to the taxman. Remember, if you pay inheritance tax it will probably be the third time you pay tax to Gordon Brown on the same money, which is a good deal for the Chancellor and a bad deal for us.

The key to inheritance tax avoidance is to plan ahead. There are a number of tax saving options that are available for people with all sorts of different circumstances. The cost of the vast majority of inheritance tax saving options is very small compared to the potential savings.

The nature of inheritance tax is that it will only be paid when you die, so the bad news is that you incur the time and cost of saving the tax but get no benefit from doing so! Maybe you can send the bill to your beneficiaries instead!

It is never too early to start planning ahead, so please contact any of the people below to make a start on your estate and tax planning, to ensure that you give your estate to the people you wish to benefit and you don’t give it to Gordon.”

Neil Chadwick – Newcastle Office – 01782 612311
Hilary Knott – Hanley Office – 01782 652300
Peter Hamilton – Leek Office – 01538 399332
Or email: lawyers@tinsdills.co.uk