We concentrate on acquiring assets, without thinking about protecting this wealth or it can be passed on to the next generation. The threat to your assets comes from taxation, litigation, creditors, claimant, business failure, family or matrimonial problems, poor annuity rates destroying your pension fund, or some other problem. Whichever is the case do not sit back and take control of your assets today.
Inheritance tax (also known as IHT) is a significant worry for a growing number of people, and a subject for frequently passionate debate. As house prices have risen the number of people affected by IHT has grown, making it a widely held concern. IHT is a tax that is levied not on your earnings, as is the case for income tax, but on the value of an individual's assets upon their death. IHT is levied on the estate of the deceased in other words all of the assets under the ownership of the deceased.
Inheritance Tax is charged at 40% on the value of anyone's estate above the nil rate band threshold which for the 2009/2010 tax year stands at £325,000. The Inheritance tax new rules, which take effect from the 9th October 2007, changed the tax legislation to allow married couples or civil partners to transfer the element of Inheritance Tax free allowance unused on the first death to their spouse when they die. Accordingly married couples and those in civil partnerships now receive a combined tax free allowance of £650,000. The ownership of exempt property is the simplest way to protect the assets from the reach of creditors. Each state has its own laws defining exempt and non-exempt property. Certain property may be entirely exempt while the exemption for other property may be limited to a certain dollar amount. Exempt property include: Primary residence in some states- the homestead exemption, Household furniture and furnishings, clothing and jewellery, tools of a trade or business. Life insurance benefits may also be exempt property.
Many families want to make sure that errant spouses have no claims on family assets and they do not wish to rely on the divorce and separation laws to achieve this. Divorce is always unpleasant and regrettably sometimes it is impossible to avoid but the sense of injustice that can arise from a court ordering a reallocation of assets can be devastating. Marital property involves all income and assets acquired by either spouse during the marriage, even if an asset is in one spouse's name. At the time of divorce, this marital property is subject of contention between the separating couple. However, there are certain types of non-marital property which may not be divided at the time of divorce. These properties include property owned before marriage, your inheritance, and gifts.
Asset protection planning is sometimes known as pre-litigation or pre-judgment planning. Once a judgment has been rendered, the judgment is said to go into collections whereby the creditor attempts to enforce the judgment against the assets of the debtor. During the collections process, it is possible that the creditor undertakes extensive research and discovers the debtor’s assets. If the creditor comes up with the disclosure of debtor’s assets, it is compulsory for the debtor to respond to those disclosure requests. If the debtor chooses not to respond, it is considered to be the contempt of court.
The laws of bankruptcy control what is possible in these situations. Planning so to protect family assets from being claimed by creditors should the family business run into problems at some point in the future. The protection of assets is something that should be considered from the start rather than simply when there is a real risk of the family business running into problems.
The UK is becoming more and more interested in litigation and in seeking financial redress and compensation for the smallest perceived sleight or mistake. There is a distinctive blame culture that started out in America and which is now developing internationally it means that in this day and age, if something goes wrong someone, somewhere is to blame and that person must pay. Unsurprisingly, those with the most to lose are the best targets to aim for because they are in a position to pay out big and they make suing them worthwhile which is why protecting oneself and ones assets from an onslaught of litigation before the event is absolutely crucial.
Long term care costs in the UK is a growing concern for many as we live longer and many clients think that they can gift assets to their children in order to avoid having to pay for expensive long-term care. We can set up a structure which will protect your assets. However, this must be done long enough before the elderly person enters care to have any chance of success.
Asset protection strategies are not put into place to hide property from your government, avoiding taxation or illegally eluding creditors. Asset protection planning does not involve tax evasion as applicable taxes will need to be paid. It is important to properly report your taxable income. The legitimacy of your protection could be jeopardised if there is improper or illusive reporting, which will effect its protection should you need it.
The team at Henderson Morgan have many years of experience of helping our clients protect their assets. The more in advice your plan the more effective asset protection strategy that can be produced, contact us today for your free initial consultation with one of our team.
