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Yes, make a Will! Lynette Viney-Passig, Solicitor and Head of Private Client at Swayne Johnson Solicitors explains why there’s yet another reason to make a Will. Clients often ask me if they should give away their home (usually to children) during their lifetime. A good solicitor should always advise against this. There are serious risks…

Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes continue to be a hot topic in the business and financial worlds as an increasing number of people seek to transfer their pensions from a DB scheme. Recent figures suggest that more than four out of five (83%) of financial advisers in the UK have seen an increased demand for…

8 Financial planning steps you should take in the 5 years before you retire For many of us, realising there are only 5 years to go before the longest holiday of our lifetime will prompt us into sorting out our financial affairs. Here are 8 tips to help you make sure that your retirement is…

If a man and a woman in a relationship don’t want to marry and many of us don’t these days then the only other option currently available to them is cohabitation. There are some key financial implications if you are cohabiting, non-more than your wishes on death. Whilst such couples might describe themselves or be…

Introduction June was a fairly quiet month. Well, apart from the chaotic General Election in the UK. Oh – and the decisive win for Emmanuel Macron in the French parliamentary elections. And the start of the Brexit negotiations. And Italy was forced to bail out two more banks. President Trump pulled out of the Paris…

3 steps to keeping track of your pension A recent study has revealed the worrying statistic that over a fifth of all people with multiple pensions have lost track of at least one pension, with some admitting to have forgotten the details of all of them. With around two thirds of UK residents having more…

Voting has now closed and the results are in! We have waited for the election dust to settle before sharing our thoughts on this General Election. To help explain the impact of this Election results, we have prepared an Election Summary, breaking down the details and reflecting on how this could impact Brexit and, importantly,…

Introduction As we wrote last year, ‘It is tempting to think that Brexit is the only game in town.’ Cross out ‘Brexit’ and replace it with ‘General Election’ and the sentiment holds good. But the rest of the world keeps turning – or in May, grinding to a halt as the WannaCry ransomware attack hit…

By 2020-21 couples could be free of IHT on up to £1m of their wealth which can be passed on to their children or grandchildren.

Currently, spouses and civil partners can pass all of their wealth to each other without tax. However, tax may be payable when it comes to cascading wealth down the generations. We can all pass on £325,000 which is the current Nil-Rate Band (NRB) before tax is due.  Nil-rate bands can also be passed between spouses.

The new regime makes it much more complicated, so much so that the Government website  has 18 examples of how the new Residence Nil-Rate Band (RNRB) can be used and calculated.

Following the dissolution of parliament last week, party leaders have hit the election campaign trail. Please click here for our latest update on the ‘polls, policies, Brexit and your finances’ and what to expect in the run up to the general election on 8 June. Whatever the result, we will be here with our usual…