The gift that pays for itself

ONE of the issues which is currently in the media is the risk of property fraud whereby individuals use various means to obtain money or property using properties at risk. This is often to benefit other criminal activity.

What properties are at high risk?

• Empty properties

• Tenanted properties

• Properties which could become empty

• Properties not subject to a mortgage

• Unregistered properties will be. However a Will can be worded to provide that a gift of 10 % of the value of your estate at that time is given to a charity or charities of your choice. The effect of this will be that the rate of Inheritance Tax payable on the whole estate is reduced from 40 % to 36 %.

There are benefits associated with all these alternatives but there are also some pitfalls. If you would like advice on which option fits your circumstances or assistance with completing the necessary forms please contact us.

Property Alert

Using the Property Alert service is very simple.

• Go to the website address above

• Properties which are not occupied all the time

How can you protect your home?

By Shelley Faulkner, solicitor

• Register your unregistered property

In same circumstances, it has been calculated that this reduction in the tax bill can serve to leave the estate, even after payment of the gift to charity, with a value as high as if the gift had not been made. Thus the gift can in some cases quite literally pay for itself.

• Complete your details including your email address and a safe password and register for the distribution of the estate, and the estate can then be divided as if the Will had been made in these terms. A Deed of Variation could therefore provide that 10 % of the estate is to pass to a chosen charity or charities, making the estate as a whole eligible for the reduced rate of Inheritance Tax.

• Add the property(ies) you wish to monitor (maximum 10)

• Monitor your emails

• Keep your details up to date

with AMD Solicitors

WHILE most of us support a number of charities in our lifetime, it is perhaps not surprising that a smaller number choose to remember a charity in their Will. Clearly the priority for most is to provide for a surviving spouse or children, or to ensure that the family wealth can be passed on to benefit the next generation.

• Add a Restriction to your property which sets out certain requirements which need to be met before registration of a transaction takes place.

• Keeping your contact details up

Even where a Will has not been prepared in these terms, it may be possible to take advantage of this tax break. If the beneficiaries of the estate agree, it is possible to effectively amend the terms of a Will within two years of the date of death. A ‘Deed of Variation’ can be drawn up which sets out the family members’ agreed arrangements

The service notifies you if anyone makes an application to register something against the title. It relies on you to check that the transaction is legitimate. If it is not you can then contact the Land Registry fraud line on 0300 006 7030 or at reportafraud@landregistry.gov.uk. It does not prevent transactions being registered but it enables you to be warned and take action. of attorney and all private client issues, contact Shelley Faulkner, Florence Pearce and the other members of the team on 0117 9621205, email probate@ amdsolicitors.com or call in at 15 The Mall Clifton, or 100 Henleaze Road Henleaze.

This change in the law is clearly very good news both for charities, and potentially for some estates as well. However the detail of the application can be complex. For example, the estate is divided into different ‘components’ depending on how the property will pass to the beneficiaries, in order to calculate whether the 10 % test has been met. Taking specialist advice on the implications for your particular circumstances is therefore essential.

If you find you are notified and do not know what to do next, first contact the Land Registry.

The writer, Rachel Dickinson, is a Solicitor at AMD Solicitors having recently joined our Shirehampton office as a Conveyancer. Rachel assists clients in their property transactions including buying, selling and transferring between

AMD’s team of experienced private client solicitors and practitioners includes full individuals and has been conveyancing for over 20 years, bringing a varied insight into the intricacies of property transactions. Sorting out your property affairs could cost less than you think and can give you peace of mind. If you need any assistance relating to the ownership of your property please do not hesitate to contact Rachel or our conveyancing team for a quote on 0117 923 5562 or email info@ amdsolicitors.com

AMD Solicitors takes pride in sponsoring local, Bristol based charities and this year is very pleased to be supporting the Bristol branch of the Alzheimer’s Society, the local branch of this national charity which works to improve the quality of life of people affected by dementia in Great Britain. For full details of our fundraising activities visit our website www.amdsolicitors.com.

Copyright AMD Solicitors

However, government policy is clearly to encourage giving to charity, and a recent development in the law is intended to promote gifts to charity being made by Will. This change may also, on occasion, serve to save Inheritance Tax, or even to create a gift which literally pays for itself.

Reduced rate of Inheritance Tax

Where somebody dies after 6 April 2012 the rate of Inheritance Tax applied to the estate can be reduced from 40 % to 36 % (in other words by 10 %), provided that at least 10 % of the estate passes to charity.

Clearly it is not possible to determine in advance exactly what value the assets you leave by Will will have on your death for Inheritance Tax purposes, or what 10 % of the total value