Inheritance tax

Moore Thompson Legal and Legacy Services

The inheritance tax (IHT) regime now makes it easier for married couples and civil partners to transfer their individual IHT allowance.

On the first death, the survivor inherits their late partner’s IHT allowance, effectively allowing married couples and civil partners to distribute a total of £650,000 (2011-12 rates) free of inheritance tax at 40 per cent.

Widows and widowers and people who have lost their civil partner are also able to add any unused proportion of their partner’s IHT allowance to their own, regardless of how long ago the death occurred.

While £650,000 might sound a substantial sum, many couples now have estates in excess of this, when property, death in service benefits, life insurance, savings and investments are taken together.

We’ll thoroughly review your financial circumstances, advise on your inheritance tax liability and ways to minimise this. For example, we will explore the use of lifetime gifts, trusts and other vehicles, including writing life insurance policies in trust, so that these are excluded from your estate and are IHT-exempt.

Inheritance tax remains a complex area, so seeking independent, expert advice from experienced professionals is a wise step to ensuring that the taxman doesn’t benefit instead of your family.

To find out more about our services, and arrange a free initial meeting, please contact us.

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Inheritance tax

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