Death, Tax and Bullion

[Fluttershy]

I`m hoping some of you will be able to help clear up some questions I have in a certain area, i`ll posit some hypotheticals and await your answers, I may posit further (depending on the replies) to help elucidate things further, and maybe it`ll help some others too!? (I doubt I`m the only one that doesn`t know all this stuff).

 

I`m curious about what happens to your stuff (incl Bullion/stack) when you die.

 

I`ll remove the idea of house ownership etc... from the equasion and focus Only upon personal possesions (for now LOL).

 

I, like others here would like to leave any unspent (on pension subsidies etc...) stack to my Kids or grandkids if I ever have any).

 

How does this happen?

 

1) supose you have no Will written?

2) supose you DO have a will written? do you admit to having bullion in there? can you get taxed on it? and if you can then WHY!?

 

I`ll leave there for now, and will be asking plenty more questions after this depending on the answers.

 

Thanks in advance you lovely lot!

 

[sovereignsteve]

I`m hoping some of you will be able to help clear up some questions I have in a certain area, i`ll posit some hypotheticals and await your answers, I may posit further (depending on the replies) to help elucidate things further, and maybe it`ll help some others too!? (I doubt I`m the only one that doesn`t know all this stuff).

 

I`m curious about what happens to your stuff (incl Bullion/stack) when you die.

 

I`ll remove the idea of house ownership etc... from the equasion and focus Only upon personal possesions (for now LOL).

 

I, like others here would like to leave any unspent (on pension subsidies etc...) stack to my Kids or grandkids if I ever have any).

 

How does this happen?

 

1) supose you have no Will written?

2) supose you DO have a will written? do you admit to having bullion in there? can you get taxed on it? and if you can then WHY!?

 

I`ll leave there for now, and will be asking plenty more questions after this depending on the answers.

 

Thanks in advance you lovely lot!

Wow.

The main issue is inheritance tax. It depends how much you are worth.

You have to include your house and everything, which will all be valued as "your estate".

Anything above the threshold of £325,000 will be taxed at 40%

The rest will go to who you will it to (if you have a will).

If you don't, your estate will go to by the intestacy rules which divide everything up among your family in a certain order.

Problem is this is messy and long winded, you don't want to bequeath this to your loved ones.

If you're married, your individual inheritance tax allowances can be doubled but it depends how you want to leave you estate.

If you're pretty well off, get some advice and a will.

BTW some PMs are capital gains tax free but will count as part of your estate.

You can consider writing some of your stuff in to trust for kids/grandkids which can keep it out of the inheritance tax trap. Again get advice - I don't usually advocate paying a professional for financial advice but this is different, you need a cast-iron will.

[HighlandTiger]

I'm going to leave a bit of scrap paper with my will, telling the kids where my PM stack is hid, (they'll be in for a shock as they think the old man is always skint ) split it all between them, sell it slowly in different places, oh and don't tell the tax man.....he's not getting a cut of my pm's

[Pipers]

If you want to leave someone out of the will LEAVE THEM SOMETHING IN THE WILL eg £100 it is then very hard for them to contest the will.  I know someone who did this and the person tried to contest the will but couldn't.

 

I know this seems daft but there are certain cases eg the local Authority is looking after a elderly person they have gone through all of their money then the Authority gets a whiff of some more money, they will stop at nothing to get hold of it, causing stress and misery for the family.    

[Fluttershy]

I`m really concerned with the second post here! some things in it worry me (and thanks for the Honesty Steve )

HT, I can`t tell if you`re being sarcastic here or not, but i`m not entirely sure that taking your advice would be the best thing to do.

Pipers, that was awesome advice and really worth noting!

 

now goin back to Steves post, I can`t help but think that some stranger comes into my home and goes through all my stuff etc...

there is No Way I want some perv with a clipboard going through all my stuff appraising it for "worth"!!!!

poking through my underwear drawers and so on (would you?).

 

surely this isn`t Really what happens is it?

[sovereignsteve]

Not sure of the exact mechanics as I don't have personal experience in this area. I have heard from people who have had to go through probate for a lost relative and they all say it's a horrible experience, takes years and costs a fortune in professional fees. Just what you need when grieving a loved one.

I would guess that some tax inspector will go through your financial affairs looking for irregularities and demanding to know where your money has gone.

Probably the best thing to do is let your favourite kid or even wife LOL know where your stack is and tell them to keep it quiet until they can discretely dispose of it.

[ChrisSilver]

You can put all your assets in an offshore trust and avoid inheritance tax completely. But it costs about £30k to set. So not suited for everyone.

There is a limit on how much you can give away each year as gifts without the receiver paying tax, and if you give it away a certain amount of years before you pass away then their is no tax at all for the receiver to pay. I think the yearly amount is quite low though, £3k or £6k or something. Not sure.

I would advise some professional advice.

[HighlandTiger]

To flutters. Not being sarcastic. I've always thought it stupid to tell the taxman everything you have only for him to take some if it just because you died. Unless I die suddenly under a bus or something, I'll probably know when my time us up. Most ill people get some time before they pop their clogs and if I think my time is up then I'll let my kids know where my stack is, (that's if I haven't spent it all on nefarious women and drink) and get them to shift it into their homes. What the tax man doesn't know about, he can't take. Oh, and if we have a taxman here lurking and taking notes, I had all my pm,s lost in a boating accident whilst we were sailing over the Marianas Trench. [emoji12] . Don't forget we are not talking about houses or cars or stocks and shares which have our names attached to them, but little bits of shiny metal found in the back of a drawer.

[SilverPirate]

I lost my mum at Christmas and my dad went in 2002, so there is an estate to sort out.I went to a solicitor after having a little go at doing the necessary bits and bobs but due to the stress of my loss gave up and let the solicitor do it.Am i glad i did,my mum never used my dads allowance so i can used both which keeps the value of the estate under the threshold.  Which i never knew about,even  after doing research on the internet.

The solicitor asked me about all my mums assets,

Savings.

Jewelry.

stocks and shares.

Car.

personal belongings that have a value,ie. antiques.(coins would come into this)

properties.

I was also asked if i had received any gifts of value from my mum over the past recent years.I think it is seven years back but need to seek advice on that to clarify.The solicitor said sell the furniture but keep tabs on what was sold and for how much just in case it is needed but to divide that money between my sister and i now.My mothers jewelry was not a lot and went to my sister and my daughters with no problem at the moment as my mums estate is in probate at the moment..My sister had my mums car and i had cash equivalent from mums bank account this was also OK with the solicitor.

When it came to the funeral i paid out of an ISA i had and got it back from my mums bank account when my sister and i went to the bank to sort it out.a death certificate and our I.D was enough to sort that out.and can be done before probate.The bank manager said i need not have paid the funeral i should of come strait to him because by law we are all entitled to a funeral and this was ok to be paid for out of an estate no argument.

Money in a bank account is very easy for siblings to access with out probate.Premium bonds and stocks and shares will have to be accessed after probate but you can enquire as to how much an set the ball rolling.

When someone dies there is a government service called tell them once service and they tell all the relevant services.i.e. pension,council,drivers licence licence ect ect. and you do not have to do any more.

The council will not charge you anymore rates from day of death till the house is sold,you have to send death certificate for that. 

These are my tips for helping your children to sort out your estate.

1/Pay for your funeral in advance.

2/Do  a will.

3/Have a book with all your relevant phone numbers of relatives.

4/Have a book with all the relevant bank account numbers,stocks and shares number/premium bonds numbers,addresses for them and phone numbers

5/All certificates, bank, statements books.in one folder.

6/family tree to the best of your knowledge when your gone that info has gone.

7/ Wright on the back of photo's who the hell they are future generations have not got a clue.

8/If making a gift to a relative cover your tracks you will pay tax if over an allowance.

9/Make a separate precious metal will and put it with your phone number book or bank number books this is for family eyes only but you can get a close friend to sign it as a witness thus avoiding inheritance tax( i do not condone this mr tax man if your watching.)

10/leave the will with the solicitor in case the house burns down tell the kids where it is.

11/on splitting up a loved ones house do it with love and understanding don't smash and grab be nice to each other.take your time if you can,the smallest thing can be upsetting,don't let a belonging ruin a relationship my sister and i have come out of this so far closer than before.

NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN FAMILY.

[BaldyBob]

Thanks for that Pirate.

Can't have been easy to write, but very informative to others yet to have this experience.