Elderly sisters lose European appeal against inheritance tax liability

 Two elderly unmarried sisters who appealed against a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that they should be liable for inheritance tax when the first of them dies have lost their appeal.

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Leaving a legacy? Then visit this site

A man who spent over 27 years working in charity legacy offices has set up a uniquely informative - and amusing - website to help people who wish to leave legacies to their favourite charity. Patrick Wise, now retired, decided to create the site after learning from experience just how many people fail to make a will, thereby failing to make the best gift of all - a legacy.

Do you know about the new change in powers of attorney?

Sara Rogers of Clarion Solicitors explains the changes which have just come into force.

The new IHT rules: what you need to know

Alistair Darling has now presented his first Pre-Budget report, and, as expected, it included some significant changes, notably to the Inheritance Tax (IHT) and Capital Gains Tax (CGT) regimes. Chris Budd considers the implications.

Tories: "We'll put Inheritance Tax threshold at £1 million"

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne has promised to slash inheritance tax and stamp duty in a keynote speech at the Economic Competitiveness debate in the Conservative Party Conference.

Join our webchat on IHT next Tuesday

Young or old, super-rich or just ‘an average householder’, if you own a property then, sadly, inheritance tax (IHT) is something that will affect you. What’s more, because of rising house prices it is something that is affecting us more than ever before.

Join us for our live webchat next Tuesday to find out how you can prepare for the future.

"Treasury waiting for us to pop our clogs"

As the first wave of the 17 million baby boomers born between 1945 and 1965 prepares for imminent retirement, a financial consultancy is warning that inheritance tax looks set to stay in place – with the Treasury reaping billions of pounds every year.

Where there's a will..

A frightening proportion of people have not made a will. What's stopping them? And what are the implications for their family if they don't? By Tony Watts.

New warning over Inheritance Tax

Despite the rise in the nil-rate Inheritance Tax (IHT) threshold to £300,000, almost 9.4 million homeowners will still have an estate liable for a 40% tax bill on their death, according to new research from the Scottish Widows IHT index.

Giving away the family home

  Giving away the family home to the next generation is something that many people consider, as a way of reducing potential inheritance tax.

 

However, this is frought with difficulties both for the parents giving the property away and for the children receiving a share in their parents’ home.

Help the Aged advise on wills

We’d all prefer not to think about death, especially our own, but there’s nothing morbid about making a will.  It’s a positive, practical part of long-term financial planning that can bring you real peace of mind.


Dealing with an intestate will

The death of a loved one, especially a partner, is a highly stressful and extremely difficult time.  This is only made worse if the deceased person had not made a will (known as dying intestate). Chris Budd examines what should be done in such circumstances.


Do millions of Wills REALLY need reviewing?

A story published in national press on 4th May 2006 suggests that recent changes announced in the budget will affect far more people than was previously predicted. Richard Foster offers some helpful advice.

Unwrapping the mysteries of IHT

Our IHT expert answers a reader query on the situation where a married couple own their home on a Tenants in Common basis and have protected their individual IHT allowances via Discretionary Trust Wills.

An interesting budget?

Many commentators, when referring to Gordon Brown’s recent budget, said it was rather a boring event, with little to write about.  However, the devil is in the detail, says Chris Budd.