Man Awarded Costs Against Brother in Will Dispute Case
A man who successfully challenged his mother’s final will is likely to recover the lion’s share of his legal costs after the High Court ruled that his brother, who attempted...
Continue readingHammersmith Litigation Solicitor Maya Elci considers issues surrounding Contentious Probate
Under the current system where siblings co-habit, upon death of the first sibling the surviving sibling is left with tax liabilities and such liabilities could be great if the estate consists of a valuable property. In such scenarios, the surviving sibling has no choice but to sell their home to be able to pay the outstanding inheritance tax.
A proposal has been made to make amendments to Inheritance Tax Act 1984, to enable the exemption to extend to siblings in certain circumstances. Under the new proposals siblings are to be treated in a similar way to married couples/civil partners.
In order to qualify for the exemption the siblings must have lived within the same household for 7 years and the recipient of the property must be over the age of 30.
Of course such development in this area would lead to numerous co-habitant siblings to be able to continue in their homes following death of their siblings without having to worry about the tax liabilities.
Hammersmith Litigation Solicitor Maya Elci notes that issues surrounding inheritance and co-habitants are ones that require attention and anticipates that this area may be subject to reforms in the future.
If you have any queries about a contentious probate matters please contact Maya Elci on me@hpwsolicitors.co.uk