Background to Inheritance Tax Planning
Estate planning is often equated with inheritance tax avoidance. However, for most individuals tax avoidance will not be a primary motive for planning. Rather, you will be concerned with the preservation of your estate for the benefit of your family.
As such, any planning will have to take into account not simply inheritance tax mitigation but ensuring as the primary objective your financial well-being and that of your family and others you wish to benefit, together with the impact of capital gains tax on any lifetime gifts that may be contemplated as part of the estate planning strategy.
A starting point for much estate planning is to ensure that your Will is up to date and tax efficient. Advice may well also extend into areas such as enduring powers of attorney and, if estate preservation is the objective, the effects of requiring long term care in future should not be overlooked.
You should first discuss the content of your will and any gifts already made with your financial adviser. You then need to develop a clear strategy for the future and be prepared to rewrite your will if necessary to achieve your objectives
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