Families are under-protected and under-prepared As one in five UK adults fears for job security, Scottish Widows warns of implications of single income reliance and leaving protection until the first rung of the property ladder. Research from Scottish Widows shows that over half (52 per cent) of the UK population with at least one wage […]

Strategies to save tax and invest more tax-efficiently in 2013/14 Taxation can be a complicated area of personal finance and you can easily miss opportunities to reduce the amount of tax you pay, or save and invest tax-efficiently. Your job, your savings and your familyís circumstances can all have an impact on the amount of […]

Talk to us about the new pension opportunities One way of looking at planning for retirement is to think about the number of paydays you have before you retire, and the number you hope to have afterwards. Imagine you start your pension planning when youíre age 20, and you plan to retire when youíre age […]

Reflecting an accurate open market value The personal representative (the person nominated to handle the affairs of the deceased person) arranges to pay any Inheritance Tax that is due. You usually nominate the personal representative in your will (you can nominate more than one), in which case they are known as the executor. If you […]

Making the most of different solutions Decreasing term assurance Decreasing term assurance can be arranged to cover a potential Inheritance Tax liability and used as a Gift Inter Vivos policy (a gift given during the life of the grantor who no longer has any rights to the property and can not get it back without […]

Getting the full benefit of a gift to the total exclusion of the donor A gift with reservation is a gift that is not fully given away. Where gifts with reservation were made on or after 18 March 1986, you can include the assets as part of your estate but there is no seven year […]

Tax-efficiently passing on parts of your estate There are some important exemptions that allow you to legally pass your estate on to others, both before and after your death, without it being subject to Inheritance Tax. Exempt beneficiaries You can give things away to certain people and organisations without having to pay any Inheritance Tax. […]

Helping you control and protect family assets One of the most effective ways you can manage your estate planning is through setting up a trust. The structures into which you can transfer your assets can have lasting consequences for you and your family and it is crucial that you choose the right ones. The right […]

Using a trust to pass assets to beneficiaries Trusts may incur an Inheritance Tax charge when assets are transferred into or out of them or when they reach a ten-year anniversary. The person who puts assets into a trust is known as a settlor. A transfer of assets into a trust can include property, land […]

Don’t leave your heirs embroiled in years of legal feuding If you leave everything to your spouse or registered civil partner, in this instance there usually won’t be any Inheritance Tax to pay because a spouse or registered civil partner counts as an exempt beneficiary. But bear in mind that their estate will be worth […]