We work hard to create our estates and to accumulate our assets and knowing that our beneficiaries will lose a large proportion of these in Inheritance Tax (IHT) can really hurt.

There are a number of approaches to mitigating IHT and great care should be taken in establishing the most appropriate route for you. Your Cavendish Brooke adviser will explain all aspects of the options available and help you to make the right decisions for you and your family.


Inheritance Tax is a voluntary levy paid by those who distrust their heirs more than they dislike the Inland Revenue.
— Roy Jenkins 1986

Trusts

Trusts are effective ways of arranging your property (tangible or intangible) for the benefit of others without giving them full control over it. They are most commonly used to ensure financial security for families and/or to reduce Inheritance Tax liabilities. A good way of describing the benefits of trusts is:

“Right hands, right place, right time”

There are a number of different types of trusts available. A list of the most commonly used trusts and their uses is below:

  • Discretionary Trusts – family and asset protection
  • Spousal Bypass Trusts – Inheritance Tax mitigation and Estate Preservation
  • Vulnerable Persons Trusts – security for minors or disabled people
  • Bare Trusts – family and asset protection/gifting
  • Charitable Trusts – managing charitable assets tax-efficiently
  • Pension Trusts – Inheritance Tax mitigation
  • Property Trusts – reduce forced sales to fund care home fees
  • Business Property Relief Trust – protect the value of your business assets from Inheritance Tax
  • Many people are concerned about potential Inheritance Tax and trusts are a useful and legal way of mitigating this, as far as it is possible to do so.

There are many other occasions where a trust might be useful and we are normally able to help and advise you on most of these.


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