FINANCE DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE YOUR MONEY TO THE CHANCELLOR OR YOUR CHILDREN? If you have been carefully building up assets throughout your life you probably want to pass on as much of this as you can to your family when you die. If you don’t plan ahead the part of your estate that exceeds the Inheritance tax threshold could be taxed at a whopping 40% Meanwhile, inflation is set to reach a 40-year high. The value of estates is skyrocketing. Although there is no IHT between spouses. People already affected by IHT can expect to have a bigger liability to plan for. And many families who might think that IHT doesn’t affect people like them will be dragged into the net. Common Misconceptions- ‘Where there’s a Will there’s a way’It is important to have a valid will in place to ensure your assets are inherited as you wish but this does not protect against IHT. ISA’s are tax free- well they are in life but not on death! Your business maybe your biggest asset, but is it really free from IHT? Some more realistic options would be gifting your assets directly or make use of trusts - this will free them from IHT after a 7 year taper- with both of these options you have to be prepared to completely lose access to your wealth. These options can often be suitable solutions for our clients together with life assurance. But the younger you are the stronger your concerns may be about access and control of your wealth. With inflationary pressures it can be difficult to estimate how much of your capital you may need in years to come. How long will I live? What if my needs change? Will the cost-of-living further increase? Will I need to pay for care fees? You could choose to invest in a Business Property Relief (BPR) qualifying investment. That’s because BPR offers two significant advantages. Speed and access. There are several ways of mitigating this liability with different options for different situations – I would not advise you do this on your own, as it can get complex and costly if you get it wrong. That’s why you need to talk to me - the first hour is free! Pippa Vaughan-Avery is a Financial Adviser at Abacus Assurance Porthcawl. 01656 772222 pippa@abacusassurance.com PIPPA VAUGHAN-AVERY Independent Financial Advisor at Abacus Assurance Call 01656 772222
WHO LOOKS AFTER THINGS IF YOU CAN’T? One of the biggest nightmares regarding finances is the inability to deal with them when the unexpected happens. At the time of writing, just in the last week we have heard of three clients that have suffered a stroke. Thankfully, we had already helped two of them arrange to have Lasting Powers of Attorney in place in case this sort of problem ever occurred. With the other client, the event has already occurred and they will not be able to sort the issue if they are deemed to have lost the mental capacity to do so. Many married couples or longterm partners think that this will prevent issues occurring if one of them suffers the incapacity of a stroke or other serious illness. This is not strictly the case, since anything held in one name and not joint (like an ISA or other investment for example) will not be accessible to the unaffected partner, without the affected 36 | seaside news
partner’s express permission, via a Finance and Property Lasting Power of Attorney. Even a mortgage can be affected and if you’re looking to move house, with both names being on the deeds, one partner cannot act on behalf of the partner who has lost capacity. Usually, an application needs to be made to the Court of Protection for special dispensation to be granted and this can be both-time consuming and costly. It is therefore a crucial part of financial planning that partners and spouses particularly, take the step of ensuring that they get the matter sorted – leave it too late and that could cause a major headache. Call us and we can guide you in the right direction. On a different note, the property market still shows signs of house prices rising although this will slow down as people decide that moving in the current situation is perhaps not viable financially and they decide to stay put for now. A shortage of property choice will also play into this equation, since although this can force potential prices up in a buoyant market the supply still has to be there. Again as I write this, the Bank of England is again set to raise the base rate and some experts believe that it could reach two percent before the end of the year. That will push up mortgage rates, so call us now to lock in a new deal. 01656 782545 or 07768 418308 are the numbers you need. PAUL FIELDING Dragon Financial 01656 782545 / 07768 418308
Independent Mortgage and Protection Advisers We are the Specialists to call... Need a new mortgage from a whole of market Adviser? Over the Age of 55 and need Later Life Lending or Equity Release?
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Refused a mortgage due to Previous Credit Problems? Trying to get on the ladder as First Time Buyers? Life Assurance and Family Protection need reviewing? Income protection a problem – not available from work? Funeral planning? - pre-paid plans to suit everyone We also work with trusted, qualified financial partners in other areas of financial needs
CALL US ON: 01656 782545 MOB: 07768 418308 / 07960 613111 EMAIL: camfin@btopenworld.com APPOINTMENTS AT A TIME TO SUIT YOU, EVEN AT WEEKENDS – HOME VISITS Paul Fielding trading as Dragon Financial is an Appointed Representative of The On-Line Partnership Limited, which is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Think carefully about securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or any other debt secured against it.
