What exactly does it cover?
The IHT Healthcheck will look at the value of all your assets, for example current accounts and stocks and shares, and subtract from these the value of all your liabilities, for example any loans and mortgages, to give you your net worth. From this we are able to calculate your net value for inheritance tax purposes and therefore your likely saving from a tax efficient Will.
As these Wills are prepared by a team of qualified lawyers, you can rest in the knowledge that all legal aspects will be covered, included in these are:

• Value of your estate
• Who you would like to appoint as Executors to your Will
• Do you wish to be buried or cremated?
• Leaving gifts of money or specific items
• Guardian(s) for any children under the age of 18
• Personal possessions (“chattels”)
• How to distribute the remainder of your estate (“residuary estate”)
• Details of alternative residuary beneficiaries
• Provisions for pets

As you know, for most people the best kind of tax efficient Will contains a Nil Rate Band Discretionary Trust (ie an ‘NRD Will). The Wills work for married couples and civil partners. And essentially what they do is protect the nil rate band on the first death so that at the time of the second death two lots of nil rate band are allowed tax free. At the rates in force in April 2007 this mean that, on the second death, £600,000 of the estate can be passed on tax free. And this in turn saves the family the tax on an extra £300,000 – which could be as much as £120,000 in extra cash for them.

Will it work for you?
If you are over the age of 18 and a resident in England or Wales, then you are able to use this service. This service is designed for use by people who do not have complex estates or require specific legal or tax planning advice. If this applies to you then please contact us at our offices to begin the process.