People with assets in excess of £285,000 must review their wills following rushed, unexpected and radical changes to inheritance tax laws in the budget last week.

 

In the budget, the special tax treatment associated with certain types of trusts* was severely restricted. These trusts are usually used to deal with difficult family situations and not simply tax avoidance/saving vehicles.

 

Kevin Martin, Law Society president, says: ”This measure will affect millions of ordinary people and not just the very wealthy that the government claims to be targeting. Homeowners in London and the south east will be hit hard because of higher property prices around the capital.”

 

Mr Martin continued: ”This change also means that all divorced parents and children with court orders establishing trusts in their favour will need to take legal advice on their financial arrangements. The danger is that families could be caught out by the sudden changes.”

 

”This was completely unexpected and there was no period of consultation for the impact to be properly assessed. It could be said that the proposals will amount to retrospective legislation, which is, in principal, wrong. The government must re-think these rushed measures and engage in proper consultation and a full impact-assessment.”

 

”Anyone with a trust or assets worth more than £285,000 should seek advice from their solicitor, or their families could face a huge inheritance tax bill.”

 

If you require help with this, or any other employment issue, please contact Bill Martin, Employment Solicitor, on 0115 931 7000

 

*Except in certain exceptional circumstances