My Father gifted me 50% his house over 7 years ago (So not subject to IHT, and Primary Residence) however he did it as Joint Tenants. Now because he has several properties that will lift him above the IHT threshold. When the time comes (hopefully not for a 100years) his half of the house would pass to me, but would his half be included as part of IHT and need to be included in Probate? or would it be excluded as the property is in joint tenants?
Currently he does have a will in place placing all properties in trust.
Hi Ady, great question.
As a general rule of thumb, assets held jointly (including land as joint tenants) will still be assessable despite passing to the surviving owner without needing probate. So, they will pass because of the ‘right of survivorship’ and irrespective of the terms of any will/probate. BUT, the taxman once his slice! So, anything owned (outright or in part) by the deceased (your father as say in many years) will be assessed as taxable for IHT – irrespective of where it ends up going, and how it gets there. That is an overly simplified generic look at the subject, and if in any doubt at all your father should seek specialist estate planning advice (something we can of course help with at QLAW).
Thanks so much for reaching out. Best wishes from all at Team QLAW!
Another question from our ‘Joint Tenancy or Tenancy in Common’ blog post! Thanks Ady for the great question