Inheritance Tax Seminar

Inheritance Tax Seminar

We are delighted to report that the firm has commenced the first in a planned series of new services for clients by hosting an Inheritance Tax seminar in conjunction with the Clydesdale Bank and prominent Edinburgh based Solicitors, Fyfe Ireland in November 2007.

The seminar was extremely topical following the Chancellor’s Pre-Budget report outlining his proposals for significant changes to the Inheritance Tax regime. 

Mark English from the Clydesdale Bank opened proceedings with an overview of the current Inheritance Tax regime, including the various thresholds and reliefs available.  He provided a summary of a number of the main planning points considered by most individuals and provided some insight into the current position from the perspective of a Financial Adviser, finishing with some of the possible planning opportunities available through insurance related products.

Our Managing Director, Jim Stark, then presented a session on the use of Trusts under the new regime, illustrating that there was still very much a place for Trusts as part of an overall Inheritance Tax planning strategy.

Attention was then drawn to the Trust related planning opportunities that were only available in the run up to 6 April 2008.

He then moved on to cover the extremely valuable 100% Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs that would still be available under the new regime and provided us with some interesting planning opportunities that could help create or enhance these reliefs.

Jim’s session brought out how essential it was to seek input from a qualified Chartered Tax Adviser when undertaking any Inheritance Tax planning.

Finally, Fiona Hutchison, partner at Fyfe Ireland, gave an extremely informative talk on Wills, Legal Rights and Powers of Attorney, covering the legal position on both sides of the Border.

Fiona explained the rules of intestacy showing a number of the problems that could arise from dying without having a Will in place.  A few “horror stories” from real life experiences perfectly illustrated the need to have a Will in place, ensure that it was regularly reviewed and to ensure that professional assistance was sought when structuring a Will.

At the informal buffet following the seminar the response received from the attendees convinced us of the merit of holding this type of event and we look forward to our next seminar.