Murray Beith Murray LLP is a leading Scottish private client law firm.
For 175 years we have specialised in meeting the legal, financial and administrative needs of individuals and families, family trusts, charities and private companies.
After promising not to raise income tax levels, there is ongoing speculation about what taxes the new Labour government might target to meet its spending commitments.
It has recently been reported through a release from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on 23 April 2024 that UK taxpayers paid £7.5 billion in Inheritance Tax (IHT) from April 2023 to March 2024, being an increase of £0.4 billion from the same period last year.
When you carry out succession planning, one of the key elements is to consider whether to gift part of your wealth now or wait until your death. If you decide to gift assets whilst you are alive, certain rules apply for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes. Key to understanding whether the gift you make will be exempt from IHT is to understand the rules surrounding “potentially exempt transfers” and “gifts with reservation”.
It is always surprising when a few words in the title to a property can create unintended consequences. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, it was not uncommon for a joint title to property to contain a survivorship destination. Most couples felt it was right to agree that the whole title to the property should transfer to the survivor when one of them died. By including these few words, they had inadvertently included testamentary intent in the title to their house.
When you fail to make a Will, you depend on the law of succession for the distribution of your estate. That means the state will dictate who and to what extent your family will share in your estate. This article deals with the law of succession in Scotland.
