Inheritance Tax Advice & Planning

Amongst the many benefits of creating a will, or of setting up a trust, is the reduction in inheritance tax. Our experienced estate planners can help you to reduce the impact of IHT and possibly avoid it altogether to help maximise your tax allowance.

Your estate, for inheritance tax purposes, would include:

5

Your home and any other properties you own

5

Your possessions

5

Bank and building society accounts

5

Investments

5

ISAs

5

Insurance policies not paid out under trust arrangements

5

Overseas assets

Inheritance Tax (IHT) is something many wish to plan for and reduce, but it is also important to be aware of the complications as every scenario is unique.

As a standard, each person will have a tax-free allowance on death of £325,000 which is known as a Nil Rate Band (NRB). If your estate is worth more than £325,000, then the excess will be taxed at 40% and any disposal of assets within seven years prior to death will also be liable to IHT.

With the introduction of the Residents Nil Rate Band (RNRB) you could qualify for an additional £175,000 uplift, taking your tax-free allowance to £500,000, (providing the beneficiary is a direct descendant, and you are a homeowner).

What about if you are married? There are no taxes between spouses therefore, if you have a valid will you could pass over up to £1m tax-free to your loved ones. Anything over this, again, would be liable to 40% tax, and once your estate is valued at more than £2m, you will lose the RNRB and drop back down to your standard NRB of £325,000 per person or £650,000 if married.

How can we help?

Our will writers and estate planners can provide advice on tools such as:

  • Trusts
  • Overseas trusts
  • Gifts
  • Charitable giving
  • Tax efficient investments
  • Using the family home
  • Using up your tax-free annual exemptions
  • Small gifts
  • Wedding gifts
  • Reliefs for business and agricultural property

Through estate planning, there are many ways our inheritance tax specialists can help you ensure you have enough money to live on now, whilst restructuring your finances to minimise the tax payable upon your death. One may be to have your life insurance policy pay out into a trust, rather than your estate.

Here are some other ways we recommend you to help reduce the tax burden:

  • Leaving legacy wills – donating a portion of your estate to a UK charity.
  • Making gifts (if you make a gift and die within 7 years of making it, there may be inheritance tax to pay. These gifts are called “potentially exempt transfers.”)
  • Structuring wills to minimise inheritance tax.
  • Use of trusts can help when tax planning.
  • Business succession planning. One of the most valuable inheritance tax reliefs is business property relief, which allows qualifying business assets to be passed to the next generation free of inheritance tax.
  • Restructuring your inheritance plans following a marriage or a divorce.
  • Structuring your affairs to make the most of reliefs.
  • Investments with favourable inheritance tax treatment.
  • Deeds of variation.
  • Overseas trusts.

With our continued support, we free you from the burden of worry and provide you with peace of mind that your assets will be inherited by your loved ones when you are no longer here.

At Paradigm Wills and Legal Services, we genuinely care about educating people on the importance of making a will. In an industry often loaded with complex legal jargon and a conveyor-belt mentality, we provide a paradigm shift in how we offer our services. We aim to supply fresh ideas, clear and straightforward explanations, and a service tailored specifically to you. With you at the centre, we strive to make the will writing process as transparent as possible.

Contacting us is free. Have a consultation or a home visit with one of our experts and discuss your options with no obligation.

Our experienced legal advisors are on hand to provide you with all the advice you need with writing a Will, guidance on establishing a trust, help with applying for probate, and arranging prepaid funeral plans.

Get in touch

You may want to talk through your options first with our team of legal advisors. Fill out our form and the team will contact you to help you with everything you need to get started.

Lasting Power of Attorney

Appoint Attorneys to act on your behalf should you no longer be able to make decisions.

Court of Protection

Apply for approval from the Court of Protection to make decisions in your loved one's best interests.

Probate

Let our specialists help lighten the load and take care of your probate application for your loved one.