Review your Will
Review your Will
Can your estate afford the gifts you make?
It is always important to regularly review your Will to check that your current financial circumstances are able to cope and afford the gifts laid out in your Will. There has been a 2023 case recently agreed in the first tier tax tribunal where the Inheritance Tax liability that arose from an estate meant that a trust arising out of that estate would in effect be cancelled.
In this case the deceased left her friend a lifetime right to reside in her house (the intended trust). The estate’s assets were not sufficient to pay the Inheritance Tax due on her death. If the trustees themselves could not agree to fund the IHT debt themselves, the house would have to be sold in order to pay the Inheritance Tax charge. In the meantime the friend (the beneficiary) died.
The first tier tax tribunal came to an agreement with the trustees that the intended trust was in effect cancelled and the friend did not have a beneficial interest in the trust. So on the friend’s death, their own estate was not affected by the original Will Trust for Inheritance Tax purposes.
It is always sensible to regularly review your Wills especially if the size and nature of your estate has changed. At Kerseys Solicitors LLP we have an experienced and knowledgeable Private Client team who can provide you with the advice when reviewing and updating your Will.
Click our useful links below for more information regarding Wills, Last Power of Attorneys and what happens if you do not make a Will.
What Happens if You Don’t Make a Will – Kerseys Solicitors
Telephone to speak with a member of the Private Client team at Kerseys Solicitors in Ipswich on 01473 213311 or Kerseys Solicitors in Colchester on 01206 584584 or email us at [email protected]. We are only a click away, visit our website and click “Call Me Back” and a member of our team will be happy to call you.
