Newsletter December 2019

WHO HAS A WILL?

A case was recently reported in the Financial Times of two stepsisters who were arguing over which of them should inherit their late parents' house. The elderly couple had been found dead in their home, and it was not possible to determine who had died first.

The situation was complicated because the father had not made a will and his younger wife had made no provision in her will for her step-daughter. If the wife was deemed to have died first her share in the home would pass to her husband. Under the intestacy rules his estate would pass only to his daughter and not to his wife's daughter.

If the husband died first, the wife would inherit the property and it then would pass only to her own daughter under her will.

The court decided that the Law of Property Act 1925 should apply, which determines that the elder of the two is deemed to have died first. The wife's daughter thus inherited the entire property to the exclusion of her stepsister.

It is important to have an up-to-date will not only for IHT planning but also to prevent family disputes as described above. Perhaps you can use this shocking news story as time to check your own wills are correct and up to date and to think about the division of your assets after death.

If you want to take advantage of the 36% rate of IHT by leaving at least 10% of their net estate to charities then their will should include express provision for those gifts.

(Rebecca Cave writing in TAXline October 2019)

MAY WE ALSO WISH ALL OUR CLIENTS, READERS, NEW AND OLD, A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

1 December 2019 - Due date for Corporation tax for companies with an accounting period ended 28 February 2019.

7 December 2019 - Due date for filing and payment of VAT for the period ended 31 October 2019, unless you submit a paper return then the date is 30 November 2019.

31 December 2019 - Latest date for filing your 2019 online tax return if you have less than £3,000 tax due and wish to pay it through your PAYE coding during the 2020/2021 tax year..

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Monthly Dates:

19th of the Month:

Due date for postal payments of PAYE, NIC and CIS deductions and on-line filing deadline for CIS300 monthly return to HMRC.

22nd of the Month:

Due date for electronic payments of PAYE, NIC and CIS deductions to HMRC.
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