Laura Cowan
The research was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of a leading online high-interest savings platform. It surveyed 2000 UK homeowners, aged over 45.
The average estimated estate of those surveyed is approximately £410,252, which is above the IHT threshold of £325,000 (before the residence nil rate band). Around 38% of participants’ estates are estimated to be worth £500,000 or more and about 13% think their estates are worth more than £1 million. This makes it even more surprising that 70% of these people don’t know what their likely IHT bill could be and are not planning to manage it effectively.
More and more estates are found to be unexpectedly subject to IHT. Rising property values mean the family home is increasing in value all the time. Add to that the frozen nil-rate band and changes to taxation on pensions due in 2027, it’s easy to understand why estate values creep up unnoticed. This is borne out by the fact that 32% of the participants in the survey said that they thought that their estate isn’t large enough to be subject to IHT.
Laura Cowan, partner and head of Graysons’ private client department, says:
“IHT receipts are higher than ever and estimated to reach £15 billion by 2030/2031. Having a clear understanding of your estate and how it can be managed effectively is now more important than ever. 44% of the survey participants said that they haven’t taken any planning steps yet, 14% said that they don’t know where to start, and 5% said that it feels too complex.
“Taking the first step of discussing your estate with competent, experienced estate planners, such as Graysons Solicitors, is easy, and can take the complexity out of estate planning, helping you understand the true value of your estate. We can help you to protect it from IHT where possible and to make the right choices for your individual circumstances.”
If you haven’t discussed your estate plans with an expert, or haven’t revisited them recently, contact us now. We are happy to have a chat with you – free of charge – to see how we can help.
Author: Laura Cowan, partner and head of the private client department.
