If so, do you understand all the local Inheritance Tax laws in the country where you have assets?
Have you made a will in the country where the assets are situated?
If you answered no to either of these questions, you may have a problem.
We were recently approached by a client who is living and working in Ireland and who hopes to receive a significant inheritance in the future under the Will of a friend in the UK.
He was born in the UK and the assets are all in the UK as is the friend.
However, as he is living in Ireland more than 5 years, and since the Will is that of a friend rather than a family member and despite the fact that the inheritance is less than the current "nil rate band" of £325,000 in the UK, he would currently face a Capital Acquisitions Tax liability here in Ireland of around €120,000 for his "tax free" UK Inheritance.
Fortunately, he came to us for advice and so we were able to re-write the friend's will so that it now results in a tax saving of 120K in CAT. The UK Solicitor hadn't bothered to do any tax planning when originally drafting the Will because, after all, from a UK perspective the Estate wasn't subject to Inheritance Tax.
With planning, almost everyone can save some tax and the more complex your affairs the more you may benefit from a second opinion. This case study goes to show the importance of planning if you want to achieve the best outcome.
Have you made a will in the country where the assets are situated?
If you answered no to either of these questions, you may have a problem.
We were recently approached by a client who is living and working in Ireland and who hopes to receive a significant inheritance in the future under the Will of a friend in the UK.
He was born in the UK and the assets are all in the UK as is the friend.
However, as he is living in Ireland more than 5 years, and since the Will is that of a friend rather than a family member and despite the fact that the inheritance is less than the current "nil rate band" of £325,000 in the UK, he would currently face a Capital Acquisitions Tax liability here in Ireland of around €120,000 for his "tax free" UK Inheritance.
Fortunately, he came to us for advice and so we were able to re-write the friend's will so that it now results in a tax saving of 120K in CAT. The UK Solicitor hadn't bothered to do any tax planning when originally drafting the Will because, after all, from a UK perspective the Estate wasn't subject to Inheritance Tax.
With planning, almost everyone can save some tax and the more complex your affairs the more you may benefit from a second opinion. This case study goes to show the importance of planning if you want to achieve the best outcome.