4 points to check in your will since the introduction of the residency nil rate band
It’s already a full months since the new Inheritance Tax Law came into effect on 6 April this year.
Remember that? You heard about it, of course … but have you checked that your will meets the criteria for it? If you don’t make the most of it, your beloved, family home may have to be sold off to meet the old ‘death taxes’ as so many have been in the past.
It’s easy to shy away from doing your homework on what it’s all about. Do you find all these law changes mind-numbingly dull or confusing? Have you put off the research?
Of course, if you have, you’re running the risk of missing out on protecting the precious family home that you want to pass on to your children and grandchildren.
The new ‘Residence Nil Rate Band’ (RNRB) means that a deceased person’s estate is entitled to not just the ‘Nil-Rate Band’ threshold of up to £325 000 (or double that for married couples or those in civil partnerships) but also up to an extra £100 000 allowance on property up to £2 million that’s left to direct descendants.
There are four main criteria your will needs to meet:
- if you leave your property in trust, it won’t be eligible for the allowance.
- ‘direct descendants’ applies to can be your children or grandchildren, your stepchildren and your adopted or foster children … but not nephews, nieces, siblings or godchildren!
- you need to be living in the home you want to pass on – in other words, it must be your ‘main home’.
- it needs to have a minimum market value of £350 000.
So that means you need to go over your will. Today, not tomorrow.
Don’t be the one who causes your nearest and dearest to lose out on inheriting peace of mind and a financial breathing space that’s rightfully theirs.
For a ten-minute read, that’s a great outcome. Get in touch for more information -with you all the way on your Life Journey.
