Thompson Newsletter #2

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Inheritance tax

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ENQUIRY FORM

Will they inherit a windfall - or just the wind?

Welcome to the second of your bi-monthly newsletters designed to keep you on top of important financial issues.

At Thompson Financial Consultants we aim to make your money work harder for you and to help you keep as much of it as you can. But there comes a time when you can’t keep it. When it’s no longer yours. When, in short, it’s someone else’s legacy. What then?

Seldom out of the news, it’s one of the hottest financial potatoes of the day: Inheritance Tax. So what’s the fuss about? At present the assets you pass on in your will are tax-free up to a value of £300,000. Above £300,000 they are taxed at 40% of each extra pound. In the tax year 2008-09 the crucial figure rises to £325,000. Surely too high for most people to worry about…

Really? When the average price of a UK home is already touching £200,000?

There’s the fuss. If at present the total value of your house plus your savings and your other assets exceeds £300,000, your heirs risk a tax bill.

But it isn’t just your money. It’s about your plans, your hopes and your ambitions, especially as they concern your family. And like many things in finance, this problem doesn’t stand still. As your assets grow, the problem grows. So the earlier you tackle it, the better.

Fortunately the situation is far from out of control: the problem won’t disappear, but it can be alleviated. Your first step couldn’t be simpler –

• when you make your will, check that it says what you intend it to say.

After that, further measures available to you include:

• gift allowances (made under Inland Revenue schemes)
• gifts out of income (which you may make freely)
• protection planning (such as whole-of-life plans)
• trust planning.

Trust planning in particular calls for an expertise that many financial advisers do not possess. At Thompson Financial Consultants, however, we are ideally placed to advise you on this and on all related matters. In order to plan coherently, effectively and in good time, call Mark direct now on 01473 828973.

Take steps now or your heirs could inherit a lot more fuss and less money than you intended.

We would be pleased to receive any comments or suggestions about this newsletter - just send us an email.

8 Stone Street Court, Stone Street, Hadleigh, Suffolk IP7 6DN
Tel: 08451 188973 or 01473 828973

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Commercial mortgages are not arranged or regulated by Sesame and the FSA.