Inheritance Tax Planning
"If it works for Joe, it'll probably work for me." More than half of the people who come to The Willwriting Partnership contact
us after a personal recommendation from a neighbour, friend or family member. We don't write wills for horses, but if we did,
this is what the horse's mouth would sound like:
- Gifts made to one’s spouse or civil partner during their lifetime
- Gifts made to charities. (Foreign registered charities normally don’t qualify)
- Gifts made to political parties.
- Dispositions for the national interest – for example to The National Trust, The National Gallery, the British museum, Colleges, Universities etc.
Tax relief also applies in the case of married couples and civil partners, in that no Inheritance Tax is paid on the transfer of
assets between spouses/partners on first death. Furthermore, on the death of a spouse/civil partner occurring after 9 October
2007 any ‘Nil Rate Band’ allowance unused on this first death is transferable to the survivor’s estate on second death,
meaning on second death there could be currently as much as £650k tax free allowance before tax is paid. Where a spouse
is domiciled outside the UK, the transferable allowance is limited
Please note: Couples in an informal relationship do not qualify for the married couples/civil partners relief and should therefore
take steps to mitigate the Inheritance Tax payable, for the sake of the surviving partner as well as for their children and other
beneficiaries.