HAVE YOU CONSIDERED WHETHER YOU WILL
HAVE TO PAY DEATH DUTIES ON YOUR DEATH?
You have worked hard all your life to secure your home and other assets. How can you
ensure that all that you have worked for passes to the beneficiaries of your choice
without having to pay a large amount of inheritance tax? At the moment Inheritance Tax is
payable if your property and possessions exceed £263,000. The first £263,000 is exempt
from tax but anything over and above that sum is taxed at 40% and remember, all your
personal possessions are included in the valuation including your jewellery, silverware,
china, pictures and motor vehicles. There are tax saving devices available to you so that
your Inheritance Tax liability can be reduced and in some circumstances bring your estate
below the Inheritance Tax threshold.
ANNUAL EXEMPTIONS AND POTENTIALLY EXEMPT TRANSFERS. If your estate
is above the Inheritance Tax threshold then you can give away up to £3,000 per tax year
without being penalised for Inheritance Tax. If you give more than that sum away it
becomes a potentially exempt transfer and you have to survive 7 years before the gift is
exempt from Inheritance Tax. Otherwise if you die within 7 years of the gift, tax is
payable on the gift.
MARRIED COUPLES. If a married couple has a joint estate of say
£550,000 and make Wills leaving everything to each other, when the second person dies tax
will be payable in the sum of £114,800. However if they make wills leaving up to
£263,000 to their children and the balance over and above that sum to their spouse they
could save as much as £105,200 in tax.
DISCRETIONARY TRUSTS. Not everyone can afford to give their
children large sums of money - after all we do not know how long we shall live and how
much we will need to live on. By setting up a discretionary trust in your Will the
Trustees of your Will can put up to £263,000 into a Trust which could give an automatic
saving of up to £105,200. It does not have to be cash; it can be property or a share in
property. In the Will the Trustees are given discretion to pay the trust fund to certain
named beneficiaries in certain proportions at certain times. As a beneficiary of the trust
can be your spouse by proceeding in this way you can not only save Inheritance Tax by
taking the money out of your estate but also look after your spouse by allowing your
Trustees the right to pass capital, income or both to him or her.
OTHER TAX SAVING DEVICES
1. It is possible some times to place life insurance policies in trust
so that on your death they pass to the beneficiaries of your choice. This “gift”
will become a potentially exempt transfer and you will have to survive 7 years before it
is totally exempt from tax.
2. You can place life insurance policies in trust but have the added
benefit that you can take an income from the policy during your lifetime. Policies of this
kind may not be totally exempt from tax but can reduce the amount you pay.
3. You can take out a life policy that can pay your inheritance tax bill
on your death.
4. Any gifts to charity or the Church are exempt from inheritance tax.
Any questions? Contact Susan Dawe on 823398
Whatley Smith & Co. Solicitors, 1 Augusta Street, Sheringham |
Sheringham
Carnival Program on
www.sheringhamcarnival.co.uk |
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Pasta Extravaganza for Macmillan
Cancer Relief! |
Macmillan Cancer Relief is holding their very
first Spectacular Spaghetti Eating Contest on Tuesday 15th June at Caffe Uno in Tombland,
Norwich, as part of the cancer charity’s ‘Macmillan Miles Challenge’.
Macmillan Cancer Relief is appealing for teams of 5 people to take part in the event, who
can rise to the challenge of eating a mile of spaghetti and don’t mind getting very
messy for a good cause!
On the night, each team member will eat 2 bowls of spaghetti and sauce, and this is where
it gets messy! The first bowl will be eaten in one of the following ways: hands behind
back, blindfolded, from a bowl on the floor, fingers only or spoon fed from another team
member. The second bowl will be eaten normally. The team who eats all their spaghetti in
the quickest time wins. All contestants will be sponsored for the challenge to raise as
much money as possible for Macmillan.
Caffe Uno is very kindly hosting the event for free and is supplying all of the spaghetti
and sauce for free also. Manager of the Norwich branch Michelle Ives said ‘we are
really pleased to be able to support Macmillan Cancer Relief by hosting the Spaghetti
Eating Competition, the event should be great fun and we hope to raise lots of money to
help local people who have cancer.’
If you would like to accept Macmillan’s challenge and take part in the Spectacular
Spaghetti Eating Contest, please call Jess at the Norfolk fundraising office on 01603
626433 for a sponsorship pack.
If Spaghetti Eating is not your thing, then there are millions of other ways you can join
the Macmillan Miles Challenge, as long as you're raising money from doing a mile. This
means anything from walking, cycling or running a mile, to hopping or skipping a mile! Or
if you're not a sporty type, why not create a mile of coins or knit a mile long scarf
– you can do anything you please! Set your own challenge or get together with
friends, family or work colleagues, get sponsored and enjoy yourself. Please call 01603
626433 for more details. |
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