Tax Avoidance Myth  

August 25th, 2017

As recently reported Bruce Forsyth left his entire estate to his wife to avoid inheritance tax!

To explain, no inheritance tax is payable on assets passing from one spouse to another. This is known as ‘Spouse Relief’. Mrs Forsyth has inherited £17million so the question is what happens after her death? To say that the late Mr Forsyth has avoided inheritance tax by leaving his entire estate to his wife is misleading because almost certainly inheritance tax will be payable upon her death and that includes his £17 million fortune. In other words inheritance tax has been deferred and not avoided. Inheritance tax is 40% above threshold i.e. £325,000.00 or in case of married couples £650,000.00.

To give all assets to remaining spouse so that no inheritance tax may not be the best inheritance tax advice. There are tax advantages to drafting a Will. Whilst a Will is not a tax planning tool it can be structured in a tax-efficient manner but many other important benefits may be gained.

The most obvious benefit to having a Will is that a testator’s assets can be disposed of as they wish, making sure that the persons they wish to benefit actually do benefit because without a Will this may not happen.

If you have any questions or concerns about how and when to plan for your estate please feel free to contact me on 02083643111 or xen@35.242.129.174.

Xen Andreou, LLB (Hons), Principal, Solicitor Advocate

Proctor Moore Solicitors

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DEBT  

August 22nd, 2017

WHAT TO DO…

You may find yourself in a situation where you owe a person or a company money (creditor).

If this happens you must not ignore the reality of the situation. The worse thing to do is bury your head in the sand. The chances are the situation will not go away and will certainly advance (with or without your cooperation). It is always good for you to seek legal advice at the outset. There are firms that provide free initial consultation or a fixed fee*

Whatever the case it is very important you seek legal advice and I cannot stress this enough. Obtaining the right legal advice can save you a lot of time, money and stress.

If you owe the money then you should try to negotiate terms. If you can pay a lump sum then you may be able to negotiate a discount but this depends on the situation. If you have trouble paying the debt then you should communicate this to the creditor and negotiate a payment plan suitable for you.

If you wish to challenge the debt then you should set out your reasons to the creditor without delay.

If you do nothing then the creditor does have an option to issue a claim and the reason for this is to seek a judgement through the courts. The creditor will need to go through a court process. Once the claim form is issued the clock starts ticking. You will have 14 days to reply to the claim and do have the option for an additional 14 days. If you wish to dispute the claim you have to file with the court a defence and failure to do so gives the creditor the opportunity to apply for judgement.

The judgment takes the creditor closer to recovering the money from you.

You have 28 days to pay the judgement otherwise it will remain on your credit record for 6 years (unpaid or settled). This can have serious implications if you try to obtain any credit.

If you still wish to dispute the debt even after judgement obtained then you will need to make an application through the courts.

Whatever stage your debt matter is at, from initial default letter from creditor to judgement we can help.

 

*If you would like to discuss the above further please feel free to contact me on xen@35.242.129.174 or 02083643111. Quote ref XA/0101/DA for free initial consultation.

 

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