It is not quite Spring and the threat of snow isn’t quite past. However, now is the perfect time to review your finances and in particular your property and wills.
Wills
With a majority of working adults owning their own home, your will is the most important tax planning tool. It protects your beneficiaries and maximises the estate you can pass on.
So a professionally drafted will can assure your family, prepare for the future, reduce the tax burden and simplify your affairs.
Currently each person has an allowance of £325,000. So only your net estate (after mortgages, debts and liabilities) over £325,000 will attract inheritance tax at 40%. In Chiswick flats can sell for over £450,000.
However, from April 2017 there will be an additional allowance where your residence is inherited by close relatives. It will reduce the value of your estate by £100,000 in 2017. The allowance will increase each year by £25,000 until 2020 when it is worth £175,000. Like the main Inheritance Tax allowance of £325,00, this new allowance can be transferred between spouses and civil partners.
There will be conditions to the allowance that will need to be considered carefully when drafting your will. This become more essential if you have family trusts in place, more than one property or are considering downsizing.
Property
By far our largest investment, our home, is the cornerstone of our financial security. Increasingly we are using our home for a myriad of purposes and our service has developed to meet those needs.
In particular, professional legal planning and guidance is highly recommended if you are:
- extending your property
- negotiating a lease extension
- downsizing
- remortgaging
- converting to a Buy-to-Let
- transferring to relatives
We have extensive local knowledge of these popular transactions. We often offer fixed fees for your convenience and simplicity.
We can make the implementation of your choice a simple and clear process.
Contact us to find out more.