IF YOU WANT TO REVIEW OR REMOVE A DISCRETIONARY WILL TRUST FROM YOUR WILL FOLLOWING THE PRE-BUDGET REPORT

Many people will want to keep the Discretionary Will Trust in their will as it provides much more than just IHT savings. For unmarried couples or siblings living together it provides a way of getting both £325,000 IHT allowances attached to the house which the transferable allowance does not. However, there is one scenario when the transferable allowance could be better for your family.

The current 'nil rate allowance' is £325,000. If a husband dies this year and his widow dies ten years later and the allowance is £650,000 the total amount the estate can pass on tax free will be £1,300,000. If the couple used the Discretionary Will Trust to 'Double Up' their allowance, unless the trustees of the trust have the power to index the amount originally passed on trust by the House Price Index, the total tax free element could be just £975,000 (£325,000 husband's allowance + £650,000 wife's allowance.

For existing Discretionary Will Trusts, this is easily rectified by giving your trustees the power to index the value of the loan by way of a codicil. We will provide this free of charge to clients who completed their estate planning with us after 8th October 2006 as all our clients may request any change to their will within 12 months free of charge.

If on the other hand you feel the Will Trust should be removed, we can do that as well.

If you wish to review your will in light of changes to the rules surrounding IHT please get in touch.

For your Free Report on the benefits of trusts: e mail us now! Please note: We send these by e mail, not post. Or phone us free on 0800 781 6743.