Hi Andy, and thanks for reaching out to QLAW. Sorry to hear of the loss of your mother in law. In generic terms, if executors are confident that an estate falls well within the excepted estates provisions, and also feel qualified to have a ‘sensible guestimate’, that is permissible. The key is where IHT becomes payable that the need for [...]

Hey Kathryn – and thanks so much for your comment. We set our discussion board live last week! It is early days, and we have lots and lots to add to it. It will provide users with the opportunity to register, and then get notifications on all of the legal topics they are interested in. Do check it out! Forum

Hi, and thanks for your question. We obviously can not give a definitive answer without knowing your particular circumstances. However, as a general rule, it would be extremely unusual to exchange with a mortgage in place (unless there is some other way that you could complete ie finding funds elsewhere). Once contracts are exchanged buyer and seller are bound in [...]

Thanks for getting in touch. We can certainly help whether you may be caught by TUPE and what your options are to get you where you want to be. Please email employment@Qlaw.co.uk to arrange a free 20-minute exploratory call so we can talk things through and give you an idea of our fees.

This sounds like a potential issue about TUPE and/or redundancy, and requires investigation for us to advise. We’d need full details and to get your wife formally onboarded as a client in order to advise. Please email us at employment@Qlaw.co.uk with more information and any documents so we can confirm a fixed fee for the first stage of work. We look forward [...]

Hi Des, and thank you for a really interesting query. As a general rule of thumb, (1) cash legacies take precedence; and then (2) residue is paid in the proportions set out in the residuary clause. And, if a beneficiary wants to take an asset on account of their entitlement to residue, unless the will states otherwise, you would expect [...]

That is exactly as I thought it was. Many thanks..

A great question – and thanks for reaching out. The basic rule is that fixed cash legacies are just that – and are paid in accordance with the amounts stated in the will. The residuary estate is what ‘bears the liabilities’. There is a further point to be mindful of, and that is the personal liability of executors where there is a [...]

Thanks for this great question. I am of the view that HMRC guidance on this is a tad ambiguous. Having raised with HMRC a question along those lines recently, the guidance we were given is that the excepted estates thresholds (£3mil/£325k NRB etc) apply AFTER the deduction of ‘all exemptions and reliefs’, and so they did not want an IHT400. [...]

Eleanor – thanks so much for reaching out. This is a great question, and raises some interesting points. So, interestingly, cash legacies take priority of residuary estate. So for example (slightly different point to your question), if someone dies with an estate worth £1,000, and a will leaving £1,000 to charity, and residuary estate to spouse, the charity get their [...]