Inheritance Tax issues when making a Will

There are many things to consider when it comes to making a will.
Inheritance tax is one of those issues that is not always at the top of the list for reasons to begin making a will particularly in the early stages of your life when making a will is probably a result of getting married, and most likely when you have your first child.

The issue of inheritance tax is often brought up by ifa's who in making assessments of your current affairs would be expected to think about what you have incorporated in your existing will if you have one and any changes in your will that will need to be incorporated when making a will.

As you get older and hopefully accumulate some wealth especially through property which although can fluctuate in value just like stocks and shares, generally they tend to remain steady and usually go up in value. So when maybe your first will writing exercise did not take into account inheritance tax issues, as you get older it is quite likely that your total estate and assets with one maybe two properties could cause a problem for those that are left to deal with your estate.

When you initially were doing your fact finding into making a will you would have selected two executors to administer your estate, and part of that duty will involve making sure that all debts are paid from the estate and what ever is left will form the residual upon which your liability for inheritance tax is then worked out.

With tax rates due to go up it seems anything over the current band that will rise upto £350,000 by April 2010 will attract taxation either at 40% or maybe even the new rate of 50%. So when making a will if you think the net value (after all debts are paid) of your estate is likely to incur inheritance tax it's wise to seek professional advice to help with your will writing.