IHT mitigation issues

Dear Editor, It is important that advisers are aware of the potential price their inheritance tax clients may have to pay for traditional discounted gift schemes. Of course the taxpayer can remove some of his assets beyond the reach of the tax man by gifting them into trust and, yes, he can retain a lifetime 'income' from those gifted assets. The potential problem, however, is the complete lack of flexibility should the taxpayer's circumstances, or that of his family, change. During the lifetime of the donor a traditional discounted gift scheme offers no access to the trust funds whatsoev...