If you hope to leave a significant legacy to your loved ones then two main issues need to be addressed: Inheritance Tax and long-term care. Laurence Anthony can help with both.
Inheritance Tax is charged on estates that exceed the “nil rate band”, which currently stands at £325,000 per person, or £650,000 per married couple/civil partnership (spouses and civil partners can inherit from each other tax-free, and can also inherit each other’s unused nil rate band). Assets above the nil rate band are currently taxed at a rate of 40 per cent – which means that if you have more than one child the taxman could potentially end up with a larger slice of your assets than any of your heirs.
With proper planning, though, there are many ways to mitigate the effect of Inheritance Tax, including making best use of the new family home allowance, making gifts and investing in exempt assets. However, all these strategies require early action so the sooner you start planning the better.
If you inherit assets then, under a limited range of circumstances, it can also be possible to use a “deed of variation” to change the terms of the deceased’s will to minimise Inheritance Tax.
Whether planning your own estate or dealing with an inheritance, Laurence Anthony Associates can help you formulate the most appropriate strategy to maximise the amount that goes to its intended beneficiaries.
One of the greatest fears many older people have is being forced to sell their family home to pay for nursing care. Whether planning ahead for your own potential care or making arrangements for a loved one, Laurence Anthony Associates can help you deal with the financial implications sensitively and expertly.
As with most financial matters forward planning can help minimise the costs and stresses of funding later-life care and, in many cases, protect the family home. Where the need is immediate, and unplanned, there are also a number of measures that can be taken to ease the burden and provide certainty with regard to costs.
Long-term care is an expensive business and we cannot always make these costs go away entirely. We can, however, help make the expense more manageable and put you in the driving seat, securing the best care you can afford without exhausting your assets unnecessarily.
