Tag: pre paid funeral plan

Christmas Gift

Inheritance Tax: Christmas Gift Guide

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Happy Christmas to you all!!

Did you realise that you could use this time of year to make gifts which will reduce your liability to Inheritance Tax? We thought we’d prepare a little guide about what you can give away whilst still keeping the taxman happy…

A lot of people don’t realise that Inheritance Tax may have to be paid on their estate when they pass away. This can be 40% of everything over the tax-free threshold (currently set at £325,000). Given that the average price of a property in Hertfordshire is over £500,000 it’s easy to exceed those limits!

However there’s a simple way to reduce this liability, and help your family have an extra special Christmas at the same time.

  • Did you realise that you can give away £3,000 worth of gifts to your family and friends each tax year – this amount is immediately removed from the value of your estate?
  • You can also give as many small gifts of up to £250 to as many people as you want (as long as they haven’t also received part or all of the £3,000 mentioned above).
  • Additionally you can give gifts out of your income. For example, Christmas and Birthday presents – but you must be able to maintain your standard of living after making the gifts.
  • If any of your family or friends are getting married soon, don’t forget you can give a cash gift which immediately reduces the value of your estate for Inheritance Tax purposes. You can give your child up to £5,000, your grandchild up to £2,500 and you can gift anyone else who is getting married up to £1,000.
  • There are certain people and organisations you can make unlimited gifts to without paying Inheritance Tax. These include:
    • Your husband, wife or civil partner provided they live in the UK.
    • Charities registered in the UK.
    • Some national organisations like universities, museums and the National Trust.

Please note that new rules and thresholds regarding passing your property to your children were introduced in April 2016. If you would like more information regarding gifts or Inheritance Tax thresholds then visit www.gov.uk.

We hope that’s given you some food for thought…

If you can’t spend it yourself, the next best thing to do is to give away what you can to reduce the likely Inheritance tax bill on your estate. Why don’t you use this Christmas to help your family, friends and your favourite charities and reduce your Inheritance Tax liability at the same time?

You can of course make bigger gifts but then you have to live a certain period before the gift is treated as not belonging to you in it’s entirety (commonly known as the 7 year rule).

At A R K we specialise in offering free advice on anything related to Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Funeral Plans and Probate. Do ring us on 01438 746977 or email us at info@arkpowers.com for more information.

Funeral-plans

Financing your funeral in advance – why is this a good idea?

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It’s ALWAYS a good idea to arrange a pre-paid Funeral Plan, but in some circumstances it’s a REALLY good idea.

There are many circumstances that make it especially important to have a pre-paid Funeral Plan in place. For example:

• You may have children with specialist needs who would find it very difficult to cope with making your funeral arrangements.
• If you have very few or no living relatives then it will give you the peace of mind of knowing you’ll have the funeral you want. Plus, you avoid burdening your friends with your funeral costs and the second-guessing of your wishes.
• Maybe money is tight and you are concerned about your – or your spouse’s/partner’s – funeral would be paid for when one of you passes away? With both our Dignity and Safe Hands Funeral Plans you can pay for one plan and use it for the funeral of whoever passes away first. You can always take out a second plan later when you can afford it.

How Funeral Plans Can Help
We recently sold a Funeral Plan to a lady in her early forties. She owns a small business locally and is a single mum of a teenage daughter. Her own mum had sadly passed away a few months earlier, and she was very worried about how her young daughter would cope with all the arrangements, as well as the grief, if anything happened to her.

We were able to reassure her that if she arranged a pre-paid Funeral Plan then a single phone call would be the single action needed to arrange the funeral. It means that all her funeral wishes are now documented, and the funeral is paid for in full. She now has peace of mind that everything will be taken care of and her daughter will have one less thing to worry about. Hopefully it will be a very long time before the plan is needed, but that’s the best thing about having a pre-paid Funeral Plan – even if our client lives another 40 years her funeral will still be paid for in full. There’ll be no extra costs for her family, no matter how much the funeral costs will have increased by then.

A Sensitive, Friendly and Professional Approach
A R K specialises in dealing with more challenging situations. Our friendly approach and home visits are timed to suit you. Even if someone is unwell or has specialist needs then we can help them – whether this is with a Funeral Plan, a Will or a Lasting Power of Attorney.

Sometimes, a terminally ill person wants a Funeral Plan. This is obviously a very difficult situation for the person concerned and for their family. Recently, we helped a client who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. They had been told that they only had a very short time to live. By handling the situation in a sensitive manner and visiting at times when client felt well enough to talk to us, we could get everything arranged and finalised very quickly; so the client and his family had peace of mind and one less thing to worry about.

To give our customers more choice we now offer Dignity Funeral Plans alongside our existing Safe Hands plans. They are similar prices and you can choose from a range of options. Your A R K consultant will help you select the provider and plan that best suits your needs.

We carry out appointments in the privacy of your own home, or by telephone if you prefer. We can then offer you that same peace of mind that our existing clients have.

Please visit our Funeral Plan page for more detailed information or contact us on 01438 746977 or email info@arkpowers.com  to discuss your requirements. We you offer our expert advice for free – with absolutely no pressure to buy.