When you take out a Life Assurance policy, you will usually have the option of placing it into a Trust. This is often overlooked by policy holders and unfortunately sometimes by advisers.
When a Life Assurance plan is held in Trust, it can be set up so that the benefits fall outside of the person’s estate for Inheritance Tax purposes.
People often consider that their estate is not large enough for Inheritance Tax to apply. However, the life assurance policy itself will become part of their estate on death. Subsequently, some people are spending their hard earned cash on funding policies that will, in part, be contributing to the Government’s coffers.
If you want your life assurance to go to your intended beneficiaries you should consider placing it into Trust. It is important to talk this through with your adviser and to ensure that this is done in the most appropriate way. There is usually no additional cost for this service.
Please note that taxation is subject to change in the future.
