By Legal Futures Associate Tower Street Finance
More than half of the 53% of women who intend on leaving an inheritance have no financial planning in place to ensure the process is carried out effectively and in line with their wishes – this is compared to 41% of men.
One of the biggest pitfalls to come out of the apparent lack of organisation could be having to pay too much Inheritance Tax.
37% of women admitted to not having any knowledge of the levy saying they don’t understand the rules whereas only a quarter of men said the same.
And it’s more likely to be an issue for women who, because of higher life expectancies, have greater wealth to leave behind and therefore are more likely to have to pay IHT.
Recent figures from the ONS showed that estates owned by women would be liable for £430m more in Inheritance Tax than those owned by men.
Tower Street Finance’s Dicky Davies says: “We know there is a lack of understanding about IHT – what the thresholds are, who has to pay (our research found that only 12% of women knew the executor of the Will has to foot the bill), when payment is due and what happens if you can’t afford to pay Inheritance Tax.
“Poor or no financial planning will only increase the number of people left behind who find themselves wondering where they will find the money to pay HMRC and a lot of our clients come to us for help on this very issue.
“We developed our product range in conjunction with probate solicitors to help people with inheritance needs, one of which is our Inheritance Tax Loan which gives executors a risk-free way of paying the bill without having to wait for the estate proceeds to be released.”
Find out more at https://towerstreetfinance.co.uk/iht-loan/ or call 0343 504 7100
You can read Tower Street Finance’s guide to Inheritance Tax here.
*Research from Fidelity International
