Wills.org.uk - providing you with the latest news on UK Will writing and Inheritance issues.

 

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The Nil Rate Bands from 1914 to 2010

From	To	nil rate band
16.08.1914	09.04.1946	£100
10.04.1946	29.07.1954	£2,000
30.07.1954	08.04.1962	£3,000
09.04.1962	03.04.1963	£4,000
04.04.1963	15.04.1969	£5,000
16.04.1969	30.03.1971	£10,000
31.03.1971	21.03.1972	£12,500
22.03.1972	12.03.1975	£15,000
13.03.1975	26.10.1977	£15,000
27.10.1977	25.03.1980	£25,000
26.03.1980	08.03.1982	£50,000
09.03.1982	14.03.1983	£55,000
15.03.1983	12.03.1984	£60,000
13.03.1984	05.04.1985	£64,000
06.04.1985	17.03.1986	£67,000
18.03.1986	16.03.1987	£71,000
17.03.1987	14.03.1988	£90,000
15.03.1988	05.04.1989	£110,000
06.04.1989	05.04.1990	£118,000
06.04.1990	05.04.1991	£128,000
06.04.1991	09.03.1992	£140,000
10.03.1992	05.04.1995	£150,000
06.04.1995	05.04.1996	£154,000
06.04.1996	05.04.1997	£200,000
06.04.1997	05.04.1998	£215,000
06.04.1998	05.04.1999	£223,000
06.04.1999	05.04.2000	£231,000
06.04.2000	05.04.2001	£234,000
06.04.2001	05.04.2002	£242,000
06.04.2002	05.04.2003	£250,000
06.04.2003	05.04.2004	£255,000
06.04.2004	05.04.2005	£263,000
06.04.2005	05.04.2006	£275,000
06.04.2006	05.04.2007	£285,000
06.04.2007	05.04.2008	£300,000
06.04.2008	05.04.2009	£312,000
06.04.2009	05.04.2010	£325,000

 

 

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This is the text of a real Will proved in 1737 - a perfect “Don’t try this at home!”

 

The fifth day of May

Being airy and gay

And to hype not inclined

But of vigorous mind

And my body in health,

I'll dispose of my wealth.

And I'm to leave

On this side of the grave

To some one or other

And I think to my brother

Because I foresaw

That my brethren-in-law

If I did not take care

Would come in for their share

Which I nowise intended

Till their ways are mended

And of that, God knows, there's no sign.

I do therefore enjoin

And do strictly command

Of which witness my hand

That naught I have got

Be brought into hotch pot

But I give and devise

As much in me lies

To the son of my mother

My own dear brother

To have and to hold

All my silver and gold

As the affectionate pledges

Of his brother John Hedges.

 

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Following the publication by the Inland Revenue of the new requirements dealing with the transfer of the Nil Rate Band Allowance, we are pleased to announce that the preparation of a full “Nil Rate Band Transfer Safeguard Pack” is included within the fixed Probate fee when we are appointed Executors or invited to become Executors of your Wills. Our Probate department is the first Probate Specialist to offer this important service to its clients as a standard service.

 

The Revenue has now released the new Inheritance Tax form (IHT216) and detailed a list of documents which will need to be presented. This announcement confirms our earlier statements that the transfer of a Nil Rate Band will be subject to full Revenue enquiry and completion of a tax return. Preparation and planning is going to become an essential requirement on a first death of a married couple or civil partner.

 

In all appropriate cases we will prepare a pack which will include the partial completion of the IHT216 required on the second death, and certified copies of all other documents that must be supplied to the Revenue before the transfer is approved. Originals will be held free of charge in our secure storage facility and will be made available to the Personal Representatives on the second death. We will also advise on the various options available in respect of any discretionary or life interest trusts which may arise on a first death and will prepare any necessary documentation where applicable.

 

Correct action on first death is VITAL where a Nil Rate Band needs to be preserved, don’t leave it to chance!

 

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A man who died over sixty years ago caused lengthy arguments in court this year because of an ‘s’.

 

When John Jones died, his Will set up a trust to benefit ‘my brothers…and sisters in equal shares, the shares of any deceased brother or sister to be taken by his or her children in equal shares’. This seems straightforward enough – but it isn’t. At one time Mr Jones had ten siblings but at the time he made his Will, only his brother David (who was expressly excluded from benefiting from the Will) and three of his sisters were still alive. The Will trust eventually became eligible for distribution in 1992, when an interesting question arose. This was whether the descendants of all of Mr Jones’s brothers and sisters (excluding David) should benefit from the Will or whether the trust assets should be distributed only to the descendants of the siblings who were alive when the Will was created.

 

Key to the ruling was the phrase ‘brothers’. Since Mr Jones had only one living brother (and he was excluded under the Will), the Court of Appeal took the view that it was clear that he meant his Will to

benefit the families of those of his brothers and sisters who were dead as well as those alive when the Will

was drawn up.

 

Helen Hill – Society of Will Writers

 

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Tenants in Common is still the best way to own your home, it helps you protect your half of the family home from being lost to others due to many diverse reasons such as:

 

1 - Care Home Fees

2 - Your surviving Spouse re-marrying

3 - Your surviving Spouse having more children, diluting your children's inheritance from you

4 - Bankrupcy, creditors trying to take your home in lieu of unpaid debts

 

Don't let the chancellors recent announcement lull you into a false sense of security just because of a small change to the rules on Inheritance Tax, your Wills still need to be correctly written by an expert.

 

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Over half of all Britons have not made a will. A legal expert looks at the risks these people are running.

 

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