Latest HMRC data reveals that IHT receipts for the period April 2021 to February 2022 now stand at £5.5bn; £0.7bn higher than the same period last year.
Also, almost half (47%) of Brits who have a Will haven’t updated it for more than five years, meaning nearly half of wills in the UK are likely to be out-of-date. Of those, a third (33%) haven’t updated it for over 7 years, and a fifth (21%) haven’t dusted it off in more than a decade.
Research has revealed that:
Almost half (44%) of people realise the law decides who will inherit your assets if you don’t have a Will in place.
Only a third of people (33%) realise that a couple living together without marriage or civil partnership won’t inherit each other’s assets without a Will in place.
Only a third of people (34%) realise their spouse (wife, husband, civil partner) won’t automatically inherit their full estate without a Will in place.
Other misunderstandings about Wills include:
Only 16% of people realise that re-marrying invalidates a Will.
Less than a third (31%) of people realise stepchildren won’t be included in a Will unless stipulated that separately.
17% of people think a Will can be updated by making changes on the original document and initialling them.
In addition, other concerns are over the drop in Will uptake since the pandemic – the number of Brits over the age of 40 who have a Will in place has dropped from 65% in 2020, to 54% in 2022 – that’s over 10%.
Latest HMRC data reveals that IHT receipts for the period April 2021 to February 2022 now stand at £5.5bn; £0.7bn higher than the same period last year.
In its latest report, HMRC has also explained that it expected higher IHT receipts from March to August 2021 due to “higher volumes of wealth transfers that took place during the Covid-19 pandemic”, however more data will be required before this can be confirmed.
Commenting on historic data, HMRC revealed that receipts in April 2017 to May 2017 and March 2019 to April 2019 were particularly high, due to announcements (and subsequent delays and cancellations) of rises to probate fees in England and Wales in February 2017 and November 2018, which is likely to have caused executors to bring forward tax payments to avoid the prospective higher fees.
Lower receipts in April and May 2020, HMRC said, were due to a temporary issue where HMRC were unable to accept cheques for payment of IHT due to Covid-19, which was resolved, hence the peak in June 2020 receipts.
The average amount paid per estate was £209,000.
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There is so much confusion on these vital areas of estate planning, that sometimes just a chat with an expert in the field can clear up misunderstanding and set out the way ahead, without all the legal jargon.
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Steve Worsfold
Affiliate Member of the Society of Will Writers
Advising on Wills/Trusts/Probate/Powers of Attorney
Mobile: 07734 744886
Office: 01903 533681
Email: steve@sussexwillwriters.co.uk
Website: www.sussexwillwriters.co.uk
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Steve Worsfold has been an Affiliate Member of the Society for 15 years.