B P Collins Solicitors: talk to the experts
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People have been urged not to wait for the Conservatives to reform the inheritance tax (IHT) regime before making plans for their estates.
IHT can be payable on an estate when someone dies or if assets are transferred to a company or discretionary trust.
The Conservatives have pledged to increase the IHT threshold from £312,000 to £2 million if they come to power.
However, Paul Wilcox, chairman and technical director of Way Fund Managers, warned against delaying IHT planning in order to see if the Conservatives will be elected.
The expert said pushing such plans to one side because of a "tenuous election promise" is "extremely dangerous".
"In the absence of a coherent IHT strategy, our view is that the Tories will initially increase the individual nil rate band to £0.5 million so that there is a joint allowance of £1 million," Mr Wilcox explained.
This increase "assumes" that they would be able to "cope with the financial consequences, which is "far from a certainty", he added.
Instead, people ought to consider moving their assets out of their estates, possibly using "trust-style planning", as soon as possible, he advised.
