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wills & iht - independent financial advice on wills
and inheritance tax, reducing inheritance tax, find out about wills
and inheritance tax, how does inheritance tax work, how can you
save inhertiance tax - Money Minder Financial Services...

What Would You like to Know?

Why should I make a Will?
Making a Will is essential if you want to control where your money
goes when you die. If you dont make a Will the Law, not you,
decides how your Estate is distributed. This may not reflect your
wishes. The laws of intestacy mean that your Estate will not automatically
pass to your spouse, and a common law spouse may get nothing at
all.
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What can I pass on to beneficiaries free of
Inheritance Tax?
For the tax year 2006/2007, Inheritance Tax is not payable between
husband & wife
However, other beneficiaries (such as your relatives) may be liable
to this tax if the total estate is over £285,000. This figure
is known as the "nil rate band"
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What rate of tax is Inheritance Tax charged
at?
Inheritance Tax is payable at 40% on that part of your estate above
£285,000 (Tax Year 2006/07).
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How do I use a Will to help with Inheritance
Tax?
Many married couples are quite unaware of the potential tax bill
they leave to their family on the death of the second partner.
If you are married, and your spouse have made wills leaving everything
to each other, all assets will pass to the survivor free of Inheritance
Tax. This is thanks to the "spouse to spouse exemption"
rule which is available to all married couples.
Although this achieves the desired effect, it has a marked disadvantage
from an Inheritance Tax view, because the liability to Inheritance
Tax is compounded so that on the subsequent death of the survivor,
Inheritance Tax will be payable on your combined joint estate.
Unfortunately this means that tax at 40% is payable on the value
of the estate in excess of £285,000.
Alternatively, it may be possible to pass on some of the assets
on first death but enable your spouse to still have financial security
after your death by using a Will Trust.
An effective will allows each partner to utilise the nil rate band
available. Potentially this enables your family to enjoy a tax saving
of up to £114,000 and puts you in control of your own inheritance
tax planning.
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What does a Will cost?
For your security, and to ensure that you get a Will that is tailored
to your needs, we use an associated Solicitor to handle our Will
Writing Service.
They are able to take instructions on both basic wills and more
complex wills that can include Trusts, Power of Attorney, Living
Wills and Property Trusts.
Straightforward IHT Efficient Wills
Single Will - £80 exc. VAT*
Joint Will - £125 exc. VAT*
More Complex Wills
Detailed quotations are available on request.
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What should I do next if I want to make a Will?
If you would like to look further into making a will, you can e-mail
us at info@money-minder.com
or call us FREE on 0800 197 88 88 between 9am and
5pm Monday to Friday when we will be happy to discuss your requirements
and arrange for one of our associate solicitors to contact you.
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