Inheritance Tax is a thorny subject for families and can affect couples with more than £650,000 of net wealth between them (2012/13 rates).
For such couples planning to avoid inheritance tax is never easy because there is a balance to be achieved between maintaining a standard of living through the later years and giving assets to younger generations.
It is never too early to start planning for IHT mitigation; but typically it would be sensible for the process to begin in the late 50s or 60s.
It is important to understand that capital gains tax can often hamper planning for IHT and so succession planning in relation to property, shares and businesses is important if this is to be accounted for.
The first stage of planning is to estimate a family’s current exposure to IHT and if this is material some initial ideas can be suggested. It will become clear to the family which ideas are practical and which are not, and then we can focus on the ones which have a chance of practical success.
For an initial consultation please call Eaves & Co on 0113 2443502 to arrange an appointment. We have much experience in this area of tax planning and testimonials are available on our website.