News

‘Toxic’ survivorship clauses: does your Will contain one?

Do you have a survivorship clause in your Will? Chances are you do, if you leave assets to someone outright in your Will. The mischief that these clauses are designed to avoid is this. If A gives a gift to B in his Will and B dies the day after A, B’s estate will get […]

UK residential property in offshore structures: more surprises from the Government

The Government has confirmed its intention to make UK residential property held indirectly by non-doms through an offshore structure chargeable to UK Inheritance Tax (IHT). As planned, this will begin on 6 April 2017. Although the proposal was first announced as far back as July 2015, draft legislation effecting this change was only published on […]

Get ready for another ATED valuation date

The Autumn Statement on 23 November contained no further detail about how the Government’s proposals for achieving Inheritance Tax transparency for offshore structures from 6 April 2017 is going to work in practice. However, in rather ominous fashion, the Government did use the occasion to confirm that the changes are going ahead as planned from […]

Appointing joint attorneys? Here’s a welcome clarification of the law

Lasting Powers of Attorney are an essential wealth management tool for anyone who directly holds UK assets and can name at least someone whom they trust to take decisions on their behalf. They are often made by individuals concerned about who would continue to make decisions about their finances or their health and welfare if […]

Non-dom tax changes – IHT periodic charges and offshore trusts

Well advised non-doms know that UK situated assets should never be directly held by their offshore discretionary trusts. To do so would subject the offshore trust to periodic charges to UK Inheritance Tax (IHT). These charges comprise the entry charge, the ten year anniversary charge, and exit charges, where value leaves the trust after creation. […]

Charitable giving in Wills: charity must be governed by UK law to secure IHT exemption

The UK Inheritance Tax (IHT) saving is probably the last reason why anyone would deliberately choose to leave assets to charity in their Will. However, it is the case that leaving assets to charity is very IHT efficient, for two key reasons. Qualifying gifts are 100% IHT exempt – the charity will not have any […]

Long term UK resident non-doms set to lose remittance basis of taxation

Anyone who does not regard England as their permanent home (non-dom) but who has been resident in the UK for at least 15 out of the past 20 income tax years will wake up to a very different UK tax regime on 6 April 2017, according to a further consultation issued by the Government on […]

Guest blog: Contributed to a property purchase? Here’s how to protect your investment

Buying a property is often the biggest investment a person will make in their lifetime. It therefore stands to reason that people want to ensure that their investment is protected. The recent case of Haque v Raja[1] provides a reminder that, if you don’t appear on the title of a registered property that you’ve contributed […]

UK residential properties held through offshore structures: a call to action

Owners of UK residential property held through offshore structures, including non-UK companies and partnerships, should urgently review their structures following the publication of a further consultation by the UK Government on 19 August 2016. The consultation confirms that residential properties in these structures will be exposed to UK Inheritance Tax (IHT) from 6 April 2017. […]

Trusts and the revised 4AMLD

In my 26 November 2015 blog, I wrote about the impact on trusts of the EU’s first draft of the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4AMLD). It seemed that only if the trust generated ‘tax consequences’ would the trustees have to provide details about the trust to a central register, which would not be publicly available. […]