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?
  
• What can I pass on to beneficiaries free of Inheritance Tax?
  
• What rate of tax is Inheritance Tax charged at?
  
• How do I use a Will to help with Inheritance Tax?
  
• What does a Will cost?
  
• What should I do next if I want to make a Will?
  

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 don’t 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.