orchid35

Sadly my mum passed away on the 1st January , and now we start the procedure of inheritance , there is just me and my brother as my dad passed away 6 years ago, and it's a 50 / 50 split, but it's compleat mind field out there and to be honest we are still grieving and I could do with some pointing in the right direction on getting some knowledge so we can prepare ourselves for the shock on how much we shall have to pay to our delightful goverment * cough *

Thanks

Bubba po

How much are you inheriting?

orchid35

over the inheritance threshold of 285k

Janspeed

iTrader: (1)

Try sticking it in a bank in Jersey, the Caymans, or Switzerland.

No joke, don't let those greedy basterds put their paws on it.

Seriously try to get it out of the country. There are people who can help you with that.

CrisPDuk

Unfortunately Orchid I'd say you're screwed

Inheritance tax is calculated based on the value of the decedant's estate, not value of your share. If the value of the estate is over the threshold, the revenue take their cut from the lot, not just the portion over the threshold

My Sister and I have looked into this same thing, but unfortunately my Dad refuses to discuss ways around it

I'd tend to agree with Janspeed on this one, if your Mum's property hasn't been inventoried yet, make as much of it vanish as you can.

Matteeboy

Bloody hell - Both your parents die and then you get raped by the government.

Ouch - My sympathies.

scoobynutta555

Isn't it 40% for inheritance tax once over the threshold? I think once she passed away any legal way of not paying the tax went with her. Even if she gifted you money etc several years before her death you would be taxed on this too.

Get a decent accountant and they'll explain the ins and out to you. Also, will give you knowledge on how to avoid the tax when you pass it on to your kids etc.

David Lock

You must talk to an accountant/IFA that specialises in this sort of thing. We did some retrospective legal stuff that saved a lot of money (that may have changed now of course). Sorry to hear about your mum.

Stephb1986

yes i belive its 40% after the threshold that the robbing *******s take off you! we had the same problem with my great grandma and my grandad as my great grandma had shares in almost anything and everything and also had quite a bit of savings and she died with well over 1 million i dont know the exact amount though. so when she died it was split between her family including my grandad so then after having the money 12 months sadly my grandad died then my nan got ripped off again for 40% inheritance tax and now after 3 years sadly my nan passed away on the 3rd of this month i dont know how much of the money is left but as she was in a nursing home we dont have to consider the amount of money thats in a property. its a shame when people die and our government want to rip us off again like they do everyday with general stuff like food and petrol also our wages. before i die im going to put my money abroad and leave it there so they cant get their mucky paws on it
sorry to hear about your mum going im sure she will be sadly missed.

andy97

iTrader: (1)

Speak to a specialist tax planner about doing an inheritance tax scheme. The fees arent cheap but it could save you alot of money in inheritance. These schems are always depandant on certain factors. Pm me, as I know of a firm specialising in tax planning.

Andy

warrenm2

trouble is you have to set the scheme up BEFORE the person dies....

Of course if youve been given any gifts in the preceeding years - such as paintings, electrical goods, jewellery or furniture say, then they wouldnt be part of the estate and hence you wouldnt have to pay tax on it

The Snug Rhino

its game over.....your options ended with your fathers death and lack of action at that time.

now your mother has passed the estate will drop 40% on the excess over £285k.

try and hide estate assets and its tax evasion....good luck with big ron in the prison showers.

IHT, as this example shows, is ALL about planning. With a nil band of £300k almost a married couple need over £600k before its even an issue, even after that theres still plenty of options (while they are alive)

People often say "the rich get away with it"......no they dont, they plan for it.....same as anyone can.

The Snug Rhino

"before i die im going to put my money abroad and leave it there so they cant get their mucky paws on it "

IHT is paid on worldwide assets.

The Snug Rhino

steph,

Yours is a classic example - either theres a million pound floating around yet no one bothered to seek advice on the issue.....or you did and the advice was crap.

Assuming no advice was sought....you cant really complain. Its like not getting your car serviced then moan when the wheels drop off.

Stephb1986

i guess my nan and grandad thought they was going to live longer than they did after all my grandad was only 67 but my nan was a whooping 84 even my nan didnt know how much money my grandad got off his mum until she inherited the rest of it and it was too much for her to deal with so let my aunt deal with it who's husband doesnt even let her have a cheque book! all we know is that every grandchild gets a thousand each and 500 is left to 3 churches one she got married in and so on and then the rest of the money is split between her 7 kids. the only real people who know the exact figure my grandad got is his sisters as they got the same amount. its just a shame that the government feel they have to rip us off when we spend our life paying taxes.

Mark Miwurdz

Not so. For this tax year, the first £285,000 of estate assets are net of IHT.

Cheers
Kav

Chip

Correct.

The Snug Rhino

"its just a shame that the government feel they have to rip us off when we spend our life paying taxes. "

but your family made NO effeort to sort it. Had the persons involved sought advice then the IHT may have been minimal.

Bottom line is if everyone who was concerned took advice then only those couples with estates around £1m+ would be paying any real amounts of IHT - which is what IHT is all about.

The prob right now is we have a bunch of middleclassers who creep over the allowance and do nothing to deal with it other than moan and groan.

I was with clients the other day - house is worth £600k then they have £550k in PEPS and ISAS which they dont really need........thats a VERY easy estate to tackle the IHT on lowering it to almost nothing within a few years. They decided to do nothing and will now face a £340k tax bill on death, and no doubt their kids will moan and moan. Go figure.

Luan Pra bang

Tiggs don't ypu mean they took your advice and went to an adviser who was less of a smug git.

brihoppy

out of all the taxes imposed on us by the government this is the one i resent the most...and its not even as if im expecting a massive inheritance or anything...!!!

can someone please explain to me why the govt think they have the right to demand even a single penny of someones estate...???

ronjeramy

iTrader: (1)

the daily express has been campaigning about this for some time now, the levy if anything is too low.

paulr

In simple terms how would you deal with lowering the IHT. Is it just a case of them giving it away before they die?

ronjeramy

iTrader: (1)

like what the very rich do, put it into trusts

Mark Miwurdz

That's one way.

If the benefactor survives the gift (irrespective of the amount) by 7 years, there's no liability. You can make gifts of up to £3,000 per person per year and you can pay someone regular amounts out of your income. There are other vehicles like covenants for educating a child; not necessarily a relation.

It is a very complex area.

Cheers
Kav

andy97

iTrader: (1)

A deed of variation, within 2 years after the date of death

paulr

As i said,its basically a case of giving it away,just make sure the benefactor lives another 7 years. Yes?

orchid35

Thanks to everyone who replied and offerd advice , we appointed the family solicitor, who has always dealt with the family/house buying stuff etc etc , he dealt with everything when my dad died 6 years ago as well so he is very aware of things , mum had made provision with regards to IHT, me and my brother are going to see him on Thursday for an update and too sign some documents etc .

It's all very sad ! but at the same time sorting out the belongings you come across things you have forgotten about , pictures , even letters from my great great grandfather from the front to my great great grandmother, but the best thing was a picture taken of my parents 8 years ago on my mums 60th so I have had them copied and bought me and my brother some simple silver frames and framed the pictures .

now we just have to decide where we are going on holiday. and how long for I favor a cruise to the Artic circle he favors the Trans Siberian railway trip .

Orchid
x

PeteBrant

It's atricky one, personally I don;t agree with it. However, the argument is that it is effectively income, and therefore taxable. If, say , you sell second hand goods for a living, you still pay tax on the income, regardless of how many times that same item has been taxed before. In other words, you are taxing the person, not the item.

However, the IHT threshold is ridiculous - Property prices have risen by over 100% in the last 10 years, the IHT threshold has risen by about 20%.

KiwiGTI

Just an observation on some of the replies here. People have had unprecedented riches bestowed upon them by the vast increases in house prices because of the governments (present and past) actions and management of the economy. Why shouldn't they have a share?

And no excuses along the lines of "my parents worked all there lives etc" because there is no way in 2000, for example, that most people would have thought their £90,000 house on the outskirts of London would now be worth £500,000 etc.

PeteBrant

Yup a valid point, although why hasn't the threshold risen accordingly?