Lets Talk About Estate Planning

Sunday, 17 March 2019

Research recently released by an investment company has provided some interesting statistics revealing that people are often completely unprepared when it comes to estate planning.

HMRC figures show that Inheritance Tax bills rose by 8% last year.  However, 45% of retired British people have not discussed Inheritance Tax planning with their family.

The average person waits until the age of 74 to discuss their Will:-

• 45% admit they simply have not got around to it
• 19% confess they don’t like talking about death
• 24% are planning not to speak to their children about what exactly they will inherit
• 19% have decided not to talk about their Will at all

The next generation are often completely in the dark over these matters:-

• 41% of potential beneficiaries have not yet had a conversation with their parents about their Will
• 48% do not know that value of what they will inherit
• 85% have not even tried to bring up the issue
• 36% do not know who the Executors of their parents Will are
• 22% have no idea if their parents have a financial adviser

There is also concern about the lack of information being passed on regarding digital assets:-

• 42% admit they have not documented passwords for their children or beneficiaries
• 24% of couples don’t know their partner’s passwords or where to locate them

The research also shows that one in ten have heard of cases of inadequate estate planning with stories of warring families, disastrous homemade Wills or no Will at all as well as those who refused financial advice and had pay to thousands in additional Inheritance Tax as a result.

Our advice?  Have these difficult but essential conversations with your family now to avoid storing up problems in the future.  Our expert team is on hand to guide you through the complexities of estate planning.  If you would like to speak to our Lifetime Legal Team please contact us on 01383 721141.