Viewing posts categorised under: Estate Planning

Reflecting on estate planning

By Andrew Lawford
This article is published on: 24th August 2021

24.08.21

Could the oldest woman in the world have been a fraud?

Not many people will recognise the name Jeanne Calment, but she is the main character of this article and her story invites reflection, regardless of the truth of the various claims made about her.

First, let’s see who Jeanne Calment (probably) was: she was born in Arles, in the south of France, in 1875 and died in 1997 at the age of 122 years, 164 days: this happens to be the oldest age, as far as we know, of any human being ever to have lived. This is clearly remarkable – having been born at a time when the average life expectancy of a French woman was 45 years, she managed to outlive not only her own generation, but also a number of successive ones. It is worth noting that average life expectancy has been influenced greatly by the high rate of infant mortality in the past: in 1875 roughly 18% of babies in France died before their 1st birthdays – today it is less than 0.03% – so once you made it through your first year, your prospects were much better.

Of course, becoming really really old is the sort of thing that might get you into the Guinness Book of World Records, and may provoke a certain amount of interest from medical researchers concentrating on life extension, but how much else of interest can there be in the topic? Well, according to Norris McWhirter, one of the founders of the Guinness World Records (and as reported in the article linked below): “No single subject is more obscured by vanity, deceit, falsehood, and deliberate fraud than the extremes of human longevity.”

It turns out that the case of Jeanne Calment is complicated by the possibility of her not being who she said she was. The accusation of fraud is based upon the idea that she actually died in 1934, the year in which Jeanne’s daughter Yvonne is supposed to have passed away. Jeanne’s family, so it is argued, decided to declare that the daughter had died, with Yvonne then playing the role of her mother Jeanne for the rest of her life. Yvonne was born in 1898, making her death at 99 years old in 1997, if the accusation is true, somewhat less remarkable.

What could possibly have motivated the family’s decision to switch places between mother and daughter? Look no further than those two certainties of life – death and taxes – for the answer. It is clearly quite difficult to cheat death, but as the Calment family was well-to-do, saving an estimated 250,000 francs in inheritance taxes (something close to €1M in today’s money) can’t have seemed like a bad idea. If this is true, then full marks for creativity – we are certainly well beyond the bounds of your average tax evasion scheme! The story gets even better, though, with the decision of Jeanne (or Yvonne?) to sell the life estate of her apartment to her notary in 1969, at the age of 94. The agreement allowed Jeanne to remain in the property and obliged the notary to make regular payments to her until receiving full title upon her death. This sort of agreement, also reasonably common in Italy (the nuda proprietà), is essentially a bet by the buyer on how long the life tenant is going to live for. In this case, Jeanne not only outlived the notary but enjoyed continued payments from his heirs as well, ultimately receiving more than twice the value of the property she sold. Talk about a bad bet!

Reflecting on estate planning

What does the above have to teach us? Either that people will go to extreme lengths to save on their taxes, or that they like to dream up good stories on the topic. Certainly we should reflect on estate planning and wonder what might be coming down the line in terms of inheritance taxes in the reforms that will be forthcoming from the Draghi government over the coming months. Currently, assets passing from parent to child are taxed very lightly in Italy compared with other European countries, with a rate of 4% applied on the excess value over €1M per heir. The rates increase to a maximum of 8% with a zero threshold for an heir with no family connection to the deceased, so even in the current worst case scenario taxes are relatively low.* It is worth noting that gifts and inheritances are treated in the same way under Italian law, so it is possible to make a gift up to the threshold limit today without incurring taxes; subsequent amounts inherited would then be subject to the taxes applicable at that time, but a gift now would be made under the current rules that may well become less advantageous in the future. There are various other mechanisms available for efficient estate planning in Italy, the main one being life insurance wrappers: the amounts received by the beneficiary of a life insurance policy are not technically part of the deceased estate, as long as the policy itself is set up in the correct way.

The above constitutes a simple comment on estate planning in the Italian context, but every situation is different and I often engage with clients’ legal counsel to help make sure that the overall plan will work well in the various interested jurisdictions. If you are thinking about reviewing your estate planning in Italy or are considering moving here from abroad, it is never too early to start the discussion – feel free to send me an e-mail and we can organise a time to talk.

Where does this leave us in the case of Jeanne Calment? If you want to read the whole article, which is long but fascinating, the link is here. I won’t spoil the outcome, but I think the journalist’s ultimate conclusion is the right one. I do hope, however, that they never do the DNA testing suggested: the world is better with a bit of mystery every now and again.

* Inheritance taxes may also be due in other jurisdictions depending on the location of your assets and links to other countries.

Spanish Succession and Gift Tax boost for non-EU beneficiaries

By John Hayward
This article is published on: 6th December 2019

06.12.19

Imagine that it is Saturday 1st February 2020. Britain has calmly left the European Union with trade deals in place with Australia, Canada, South Africa, the USA, China, Cuba, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and Columbia (I did say imagine). It is possible that you have children who live in one of these countries and you are resident in Spain. 2 years ago your children would not have benefited from the European Court of Justice ruling (2014) which stated that children who live in an EU/EEA country should benefit from local Spanish rules and allowances when calculating Spanish Succession and Gift Tax. Since the decision in 2018 in favour of a Canadian (Canada is not due to join the EU), the Spanish Supreme Court have ruled that “connected” non-EU beneficiaries will also benefit from the rules of each Autonomous Region in Spain. What this means is that, even if there was a hard Brexit, your child in London would be treated as fairly as one in Valencia, Havana, or Beijing.

It is possible to reclaim overpaid Succession and Gift Tax. Please get in contact if you know anybody who has been a beneficiary of an inheritance using the allowances under the old rules. The claim could amount to many thousands of Euros.

Contact me for more information

Gifting your Spanish property can save tax

Investing some time in estate planning now will help to make certain that your wealth is distributed the way you want it to be and not end up in the taxman´s pocket. One example is where we have helped parents in Spain gift their properties to their children, who live in the UK, whilst the parents continue to live in the property. This could save thousands in future inheritance tax.

Positioning investments in tax efficient structures can also help protect against inheritance tax. We have the solutions.

As a British citizen living in France who can look after my financial affairs if I become incapacitated?

By Tony Delvalle
This article is published on: 14th December 2018

14.12.18

There has been a huge rise in the number of lasting powers of attorney set up as dementia and Alzheimer’s have become the biggest cause of death.

Power of attorney arrangements allow an individual’s financial and health affairs to be looked after by someone else, the attorney, if they lose mental capacity in the future.

Several million “lasting” agreements have been registered since 2008, when they replaced “enduring” power of attorneys, amid concerns that the rules were too easy to abuse. There are two types of agreement – one covering finances and property, and another for health and welfare. Finance and property is far more popular.

The sharp rise in new agreements – which are set up on average when the donor is 75 – comes as the Office for National Statistics reveals deaths from dementia and Alzheimer’s accounted for almost one in eight deaths in 2015 – a total of 61,686 people – overtaking heart disease as Britain’s biggest killer. It is steadily on the increase.

Many people are still exposed as the majority of people have not appointed a power of attorney. It is possible for someone to take control of your financial or welfare decisions after an individual becomes mentally incapable, this can be a lengthy and complicated process with extra cost, which can cause distress at an already difficult time.

Without power of attorney, friends and family have to retrospectively apply to the Court of Protection and prove why they should assume responsibility. This process incurs court fees and can take up to 16 weeks, leaving money locked into accounts until a decision is made. Add to this an international dimension and it is certainly a complicated problem.

As a British citizen in France you can do either a UK lasting power of attorney or a French mandat de protection future. The choice between which one is best will depend where you intend to live now and the future and where is the main part of your estate.

Let’s look at the UK and French legal systems available in cases of incapacity. The two different types of lasting powers of attorney in case of incapacity in England are Health and Welfare, and Property and Financial, whereas in France there is only one the mandat de protection future.

UK Health and Welfare covers

Daily routine
Moving into a care home
Life sustaining treatment

UK Property and Financial covers

Managing bank or building society account
Collecting benefits or a pension
Selling their home

French Mandat de protection future covers all aspects of a persons financial and health well being.

1) As a British citizen living in France, which law would govern the administration of your estate in case of incapacity?
– French law will be applicable under the provisions of the Hague Convention

2) What does French Law use to protect people from incapacity? The Mandat de protection future is one choice and covers all aspects of a persons financial and health well being.
* Trusteeship
* Guardianship

3) Could you prepare for a physical or mental incapacity by appointing somebody you trust to administer your estate, pay your debts, manage your income in France?
Yes of course.

4) Would that power of attorney be applicable and enforceable abroad?
Yes it would be efficient in most countries and in 100% of the countries who ratified the Hague Convention such as England and Wales. In other words you could prepare a LPA or mandat de protection future and both should be applicable.

5) Does the French power of attorney have a limited scope? Can the attorney sign a deed of sale on your behalf?
a) Notarial mandate (notarial deed extend the power of the guardians up to the possibility of selling the estate)
b) Mandate not supervised by the Notaire (mere administration by an appointed trustee + the Judge)

So both are legal and which one is best for you may depend on a number of factors. What your assets are, where they are held and in what way, jointly, individually, what you want from them, inheritance planning etc.

The most important thing is to do something. Taking good legal and financial advice before you do to see what is best for you and avoid potential future problems when you least need them is imperative.

Preparing ‘THE’ folder

By Gareth Horsfall
This article is published on: 10th April 2018

10.04.18

Living in a foreign country is never easy, but have you thought how complicated it would be for your family if you die suddenly?

I am writing this E-zine after my weekly food trip to the Mercato Trionfale in Rome. I believe it to be the largest indoor market in Rome. It certainly has a massive choice of fruit, veg, meats, fish and much more. For any foodies out there, it is well worth a visit. However, my motivations for going this particular morning were not necessarily the food, but to go and have a natter with the people on the ‘bancarelle’. As is the norm at markets you tend to have your favourite stalls and you get to know the people and whilst buying the groceries you can stop and put the world to rights, talk about the weather etc. I love it because it is a break from the everyday routine and it provides me with that connection with people outside work.

So, when I got a call from a lawyer recently to tell me that one of my clients had died, (after a tragic and prolonged illness) I felt I had to go and have a dose of that life infusion once again.

This E-zine is never an easy one to write but I like to throw it out there once a year because I think its important. Ensuring that your papers are in order in the event of your sudden death is incredibly important when living in another country. It will provide you with peace of mind that your loved ones will not have too much difficulty in administering your estate, and your family will be thankful that you did it for them.

The big problem is that as ‘stranieri’ we often have documents spread across multiple locations. The office, a house in another country, with family members and in that old box that no-one dare look in.

The purpose of this Ezine is to outline a proven way of organizing your affairs to reduce stress in the event of your death.

So what is THE folder?

It is a single file (digital or physical) where you keep all of your important personal and financial information together. It allows easy access to these documents in the event that you’re no longer around to help. It is really important to have it in place where one family member takes the lead on the family finances (as I do in our household). That includes paying bills, managing accounts and storing documents.

Is it worth the effort?

Well, I think it is worth the effort. A time of loss can be stressful enough without having to try and piece together the deceased’s financial affairs. This can be a really difficult time for family members.

However, preparing THE folder is much more than avoiding stress; if you leave behind a administrative nightmare you could delay access to inheritors’ access to funds and potentially cost a small fortune in legal fees.

To give you an example of this, the UK Department of Work and Pensions estimate that there is currently more than £400 million sitting in unclaimed pensions pots in the UK.

Which is best…..physical or digital?

This comes down to personal preference. It can be done by either creating an electronic file that survivors can access in the event of death. This file can then be stored on your main computer, in the cloud or on an external hard drive. Alternatively you can use a physical folder to keep all of the important information together.

For what it’s worth, I decided to do both when building mine because my wife prefers paper and so is happier with hard copies of everything. I prefer digital. I have also shared the digital folder with some trusted family members.

Birth, marriage and divorce

Personal birth certificate
Marriage licence
Divorce papers
Birth certificate/adoption papers for minor children

Life insurance and retirement

Life insurance policy documents (including beneficiary nomination forms)
Details of any employer death in service benefits
Personal pension documents
Employer pension details
Annuity documents
Details of any entitlement to state pensions

Bank accounts

List of bank accounts with account numbers, login details, passwords etc
Details of any credit cards
Details of safe deposit boxes

Assets

Property, land and cemetery deeds
Timeshare ownership
Proof of loans made
Vehicle ownership documents
Stock certificates, brokerage accounts, investment platform details, online investment account details
Details of holdings of premium bonds, government bonds, investment bonds
Partnership and corporate operating/ownership agreements (including offshore companies)

Liabilities

Mortgage details
Proof of debts owed

Details of gifts

Dates and amounts/values (potentially helpful when calculating any inheritance tax liability)

Income sources

Make a listing of all your sources of income, especially ones that your family might not know too much about
Employer details
A copy of your most recent tax return or accounts

Monthly expenses

(so they can be maintained if necessary or cancelled if not. Essentially list the fixed costs which would need to continue after death)

Utilities
Insurance
Rent/mortgage
Loans
Subscriptions/memberships

Email and social media account details

Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter,etc……..

Essentials

Will/testament + details of the legal firm that helped create it, if applicable
Instruction letter
Trust documents
Burial/cremation wishes

Contact details

List of names and contact numbers for: Financial adviser, doctor, lawyer/solicitor, accountant, insurance broker,

How often should ‘THE’ folder be reviewed?

Firstly, it is sensible to note the date that it was last reviewed so that anyone using it has an idea of how up-to-date the details are.

Going forward, reviewing the file on an annual basis should be sufficient.

Online passwords

If you are not comfortable keeping these in your folder, consider using a password management program. A password manager allows you to save all account usernames and passwords in one place. They are then protected using one master key. There a number of them available. I personally use LastPass – www.lastpass.com

This might be a step too far for you given the data breaches that seem to be happening almost daily, notably Facebook. I appreciate that and if you are not comfortable in using such an app then its important to have a physical record some where that can be accessed in the event of your death.

And finally…

Be sure to tell someone about it. There is little point going to the effort of creating such a folder if know one knows of its existence/where to find it…..

Successful estate planning in France – Having a will is just the beginning

By Spectrum IFA
This article is published on: 16th October 2017

16.10.17

When I left school, I knew more about Shakespeare than I did about personal finance. While we gain academic knowledge through education, and professional knowledge through work, there is no formal channel for learning the key life skill of money management. Most of us pick it up in the same way we acquire our wealth – very few have a strategy, even fewer have a plan.

The problem is that personal finance can be complex, sometimes very complex. Mistakes can be costly. This is especially so in France, even for the French themselves. How much more so then for those of us whose first language is not French. And one of the most complicated areas of personal finance in France is estate and inheritance planning.

Successful personal finance is not just about organising our financial affairs so that, while we work hard for money, our money works hard for us. It is also about putting in place arrangements to transmit that resultant wealth in the best conditions to the chosen ones we leave behind.

The passing of a loved one can be one of the most stressful moments of our lives, one where our families are at their most vulnerable. It is then that we need to rely on the robustness of the arrangements that we have already put in place. In spite of this, most of us do not have even a basic will.

The starting point of any successful estate planning starts with defining the ultimate goal. There are three aspects: –

The capacity to transfer at death whatever assets remain to your preferred beneficiaries in proportions of your choosing
In the most cost efficient and tax intelligent manner with the minimum amount of deductions
While ideally retaining and maximising as much control as possible during your lifetime

The bad news is that in France ‘forced heirship’ succession law and inheritance tax rates of up to 60% can make this difficult to achieve. For families with complicated situations, such as step children, this can be especially problematic and UK arrangements will not necessarily function in France and may have unpredicted results. Moreover, finding a proactive English speaking French lawyer prepared to take the time to fully understand your situation and needs can be both challenging and expensive.

The good news is that there is also a complexity of legal and financial planning strategies that can be used when defining your plan to help you achieve your goals and get you nearer to the ideal goal, as defined above. Here are some examples: –

A will with the possible addition of a ‘clause d’attribution intégrale au survivant’ or ‘clause de préciput’. Given Brexit, hand written wills in English should not be relied on in practice.
A change of marriage regime, typically from ‘séperation de biens’ to ‘communauté universelle’ to protect the surviving spouse
Brussels IV (EU Regulation 650/2012) allows you to avoid French succession law (not tax) by opting for the law of your country of nationality rather than of your residence
Adoption of step children
Gifts (‘donations’)
A strategy of dismemberment (‘démembrement’) of real estate into life interest (‘nu-propriété) and usufruct (‘usufruit’). This can significantly reduce the inheritance tax bill, especially if done sooner rather than later via a will at time of death
Use of assurance vie as tax optimisation wrapper for financial assets, ideal for transmitting inheritance to distant relatives, friends or third parties
Careful editing of the beneficiary clause within an assurance vie policy
A strategy of dismemberment can also be applied to certain assurance vie policies.
Use of inheritance tax free allowances –the standard 100,000 EUR per child per parent and a second one via assurance vie adds another 152,500 EUR per beneficiary.

So make it easier on your lawyer and help him to help you. Given the complexity of both the issues and the solutions, ask for a free holistic review of your situation from your financial adviser so you can already begin to define your needs and goals, and have an idea of what strategies are possible.

Thus prepared, you will make your lawyer’s job easier and so less time consuming. As well as achieving peace of mind, you might even save yourself some fees!

Preparing your loved ones for life after your death

By John Hayward
This article is published on: 9th September 2017

09.09.17

Having recently attended a funeral for a good friend of mine, I was reminded of the problems a death can create, aside from the actual act of dying. It appeared that, although he had organised a funeral plan, he had not made it clear where his Will was. Even if the Will was found, most Wills are written to distribute unspecified assets. An heir needs to know what assets there are before claiming anything. A draw full of files might appear organised but much of the content may be out of date or even completely irrelevant.

Who is the household´s financial controller?
In my experience, when dealing with couples, one party, normally the husband, deals with all things financial. This has resulted in many widows having a hard time with finances on the death of the husband. The thought of picking a phone up to contact their bank is daunting enough. Forgetting one of the six security questions is fatal. Logging into the online banking system is totally out of the question, even if they knew what the user ID and password were.

What can you do?
It is a really good idea to make a list, with company name and reference number, of all the bank accounts, insurance policies, investments (insurance bonds/unit trusts/shares), premium bonds, and anything else which would make life easier for those looking after your affairs on your demise. Here is a link which illustrates just how much information could be required. Are you confident someone will easily be able to put all of this together?

How can we help?
Many years ago, I was a “Man from the major UK insurance company”. I still tend to work on the home service principle. Meeting people in their homes has always been more attractive to me as paperwork will often be to hand. There is also the possibility of a cup of tea and a digestive. There have been times when I have found investments that people were unaware of and also helped to cull the collection of paperwork, creating more storage space, and possibly room for a new sofa (from the proceeds of the policy they didn´t know about). Obviously, I do not wish to major in house clearance but I am happy to help people organise their paperwork, review existing investments and pensions, and make life easier for those with the task of dealing with everything later. Hopefully much later.

Fun financial fact
According to several reports, in 2012, in the USA, a 1 cent coin cost 2.4 cents to make. By 2016, the cost had reduced to 1.5 cents. Making cents still does not seem to be making sense.

Who would inherit your Assets if you die without a will?

By Chris Burke
This article is published on: 26th May 2017

You might be surprised to know that 59%, that’s over half of UK adults, have not written a Will. And if you are over 55 there is a 36% chance you haven’t either. The main reason for this…….most people believe they are not wealthy enough to need a Will, or they are too young to make one. But what would happen to your assets if the worse did happen?

Is there a living husband, wife or civil partner?

If you are married, or have a civil partnership then it’s actually very straightforward and they would inherit your entire estate. But would you want that? And how about if by some awful miracle both of you departed this happy land, what would happen to your assets then? But let us put those to one side for now; imagine you have children, whom decide where they will be raised and who with? If you are living away from the UK this makes it even more complicated. If you don’t have a Will, you are leaving all of this to the authorities and not planning to protect yourself and your loved ones for the sake of a simple document.

Imagine you have a partner, but are not married and not in a civil partnership, would you be surprised to know they have no right to your assets? How would that affect them?
Let’s imagine, as more people these days are for various reasons not having children, that down the family line to Great Aunts/Uncles there is no one related to you. You might not be very happy to know that ‘The Crown? Inherits your assets, that is the Royal Family. In fact fewer people in the UK have Wills than a year ago.

Back in August 2015 the Wills laws changed in Europe, with the main different being you can CHOOSE which laws you wish your Will to follow. The choice is either your country of domicility (usually where you were born/hold a passport for) or the country you reside in now. If you are British most people choose the UK as the laws are easier, you have more control and less complex than those in Spain.

Find out here who would inherit your assets by clicking on this link:
www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will

To enquire about making a Will, don’t hesitate to get in touch and we can arrange for you to talk this through with a Will writer so you know:

The process involved
The costs
How it works
There is no charge for this peace of mind

Sources:
HMRC website
*unbiased.co.uk research conducted by Opinium Research between 19 to 23 August 2016, among 2,000 nationally representative UK adults aged 18+

Keeping On Track

By Chris Webb
This article is published on: 5th May 2017

05.05.17

Speaking with my many clients one of the most talked about topics is “I wish I had done something sooner” or “I wish I had put a plan in place”.

All too often in our younger years we race through the nitty-gritty details of our finances and neglect to focus on crucial “future proofing” in the process. In our 20’s we tend to spend, spend, spend. In our 30’s we try to save, but starting a family or purchasing property make it difficult. In our 40’s we’re still suffering the hangover from our 30’s and inevitably the work required to provide for your financial future becomes increasingly harder.

But if you adopt a marathon approach to money (opposed to a sprint – see my article on this topic), it can allow you to take a more holistic look at your overall financial picture and see how decisions that you make in your 20s and 30s can impact your 40s, 50s and into your retirement years.

It doesn’t matter how old you are, being financially healthy boils down to two things. The level of debt you have and the level of savings/investments you have. The only real difference is how you approach both subjects, as this will change with age .

Tips in your 20’s

1. Debt – Loans And Cards
It’s easy to think that making the minimal payments and delaying paying them off, to save more, is a good idea, but this strategy rarely works. The more you make the more you tend to spend, so getting round to clearing off these debts never comes any closer. As you go through the 20’s cycle, additional costs will start being considered, like starting a family or purchasing a house therefore the ability to clear your debts just doesn’t materialise.
This is why now is the time to work on breaking the credit card debt or loan cycle for good.

2. Start An Emergency Fund
While you’re busy paying down your debt, don’t forget that you should always be planning on having a “savings buffer” in the bank. To help accomplish this goal you should transfer funds straight from your “day to day” account into a deposit account. One where your aren’t likely to get access through an ATM which reduces the temptation to spend it on a whim. Ideally, you should aim to have three times your take-home pay saved up in your emergency fund.

3. Contemplate Your Future – Retirement
At this point in your life, retirement is far off, but it can be important to start saving as early as you can. Even small amounts can make a big difference over time, thanks to the effect of compound interest. Start saving a small percentage of your salary now to reap the rewards later in life. See my articles on compound interest and retirement planning to see the difference it can make.

Tips in your 30’s

During this decade, your financial goals are likely to get a bit more complicated. Some people will still be paying off credit card debt and loans, whilst still working on the “emergency account”. So what’s the secret to juggling it all? Rather than focusing on one goal you should be looking at the biggest of your goals, even if there are three or four.

1. Continue Reducing Debt
If you’re still paying down your credit card balances then considering consolidating onto one card with an attractive interest free period should be your first task. Failing that you need to concentrate on the card with the highest interest rate and reduce the balance ASAP. The most important thing to consider with debt is the interest rate, If you have low interest rates (I’d be surprised) then there’s no major rush to pay them off, as you could manage the repayments and contribute to other financial goals at the same time. If your interest rates are quite high then the priority is to clear these debts down.

2. Planning For Kids
Little ones may also be entering the picture, or becoming a frequent conversation. Once this is a part of your life you’ll start thinking about the cost implications as well. Setting aside a small amount of funds now to cater for the ever increasing costs of bringing up a child will reduce the financial stress later down the line. If you have grand plans for them to attend university, potentially in another country, then knowing these costs and planning for these costs should be part of your overall financial planning.

3. Assess Your Insurance
The thing that most people forget. Big life events such as getting married, having kids, buying a house are all trigger points for reassessing what insurance you have in place and more crucially what insurance you should have in place. If you have dependents, having sufficient Life cover is paramount. Other considerations should be disability, critical illness and even income protection.

4. Start that Retirement Plan
It’s time to stop just thinking about setting up what you call a Pension Pot, it’s time to take action. Starting now makes it an achievable goal, leaving it on the back burner because you’re still too young to think about retiring is going to come back and haunt you later in life.

Tips in your 40’s

This is the decade where you need to make sure you’re on top of your money. At this point in your life, the ideal scenario would be to have cleared any debts and to have a nice healthy emergency fund sitting in a deposit account.

1. Retirement Savings – Priority
During your 40s it’s critical to understand how much you should be saving for retirement and to analyse what you may already have in place to cater for this. In my opinion it’s now that you need to start putting your financial future/ retirement ahead of any other financial goals or “needs”.

2. Focus Your Investments
Although you may not have paid much attention to “wealth management” in your 30s, you’ve probably started accumulating some wealth by your 40s. Evaluate this wealth and ensure there is a purpose or goal behind the investments you have done. Each goal will have a different time horizon and potentially you will have a different risk tolerance on each goal. The further away the goal is the more you can afford to take a “riskier” option.

3. Enjoy Your Wealth
It’s about getting the balance right. Hopefully you’ve worked hard and things are stable from a financial point of view. You need to remember to enjoy life today as well as planning on the future. As long as important financial goals are being met there is no harm is splashing out on that dream holiday, and enjoying it whilst you can.

Tips in your 50’s

You may find yourself being pulled in different directions with your money. Do the children still require financial support, do your parents require more support than before ?, The key thing to remember is to put your financial security first, and yes I know that sounds a bit tough…….. You still have your retirement to consider and probably a mortgage that you’d like to clear down before retirement age.

1. Revisit Your Savings and Investing Goals
Your 50’s are prime time to fully prepare for retirement, whether it’s five years away or fifteen. At this point you should be working as hard as possible to ensure you reach your required amount. This means that careful management of your assets is even more critical now. It’s time to focus on changing from a growth portfolio to a combined growth, income and more importantly a preservation portfolio. What I’m saying here is it’s time to really analyse the level of risk within your asset basket.

2. Prioritise – Your Future V Kid’s Future ( It’s a tough one….)
During their 50’s a lot of clients struggle with figuring out how much they can afford to keep supporting a grown child, especially when they’re out there earning themselves. The bottom line is that although it can be tough you have to continue to put yourself. first. The day of retirement is only getting closer and unless your planning has been disciplined there’s a possibility you may need to work longer than anticipated, or accept less in your pocket than you hoped for.
You are number 1…….

3. Retirement Decisions and considerations
You should begin to revisit your estate planning, your last will and testament, power of attorney if you feel necessary and confirm that your beneficiaries on any insurance policies or investment accounts are all valid.
Once you’ve covered off the administration part then I’d suggest you sit back and look forward to the biggest holiday off your life……..have a great time !!!

Inheritance Tax Planning

By Derek Winsland
This article is published on: 18th April 2017

18.04.17

In my everyday dealings with prospective clients and ex-pats looking for advice generally, I’m finding myself dealing with increasingly more complex personal and family situations. From re-structuring of UK investments such as general investment accounts and Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) to make them French tax-friendly, analyzing occupational pensions to assess the suitability of transferring way from the UK and into QROPS, through to financial planning for the future, every case is varied and different, requiring bespoke advice.

One area I find particularly common is how best to address the impact French succession laws have on those of us used to the fairly flexible UK Inheritance Tax laws. In the UK, its fairly simple: you can leave everything you own to your spouse free from inheritance tax. On the surviving spouse’s subsequent demise, the first £325,000 of that person’s estate can be passed on without tax liability. Since 2007, the deceased partner’s allowance can also now be used by the surviving spouse, thereby ensuring that £650,000 of the combined estate is free from taxation. In addition, there is an additional property nil rate band that can boost the tax exemption even further. Furthermore, with the exception of the spouse, there is no discrimination in who benefits in terms of tax treatment. The tax rate in UK is 40% on the excess over the £325,000 threshold.

In France, assets passing to the spouse have also been tax free since 2007, but this is where the similarity ends in terms of potential taxation. Taking its lead from Code Napoleon, French succession laws put the children of the deceased at the forefront when determining who inherits, giving them Protected Heirs status. Who inherits, and that person’s relationship to the deceased, also determines what tax free allowance is available and following on from that what tax is payable.

Sons and daughters, both natural and adopted, can receive €100,000 each from the deceased’s estate free from tax, thereafter there is a sliding scale based on the amount inherited. But here’s the rub: step-children are not blood related, so the children’s allowance doesn’t apply to them and they fall into the category of ‘unrelated person’. As such they can only inherit €1,594 free from inheritance tax. The balance is taxed at the eye-watering rate of 60%.

Protected Heirs are entitled to receive the major share of the deceased’s estate, at the expense of the spouse, so structures need to be put in place to protect the spouse, such as wills, marriage regimes, family pacts etc. Generally, these relate to the property, but can also include more liquid assets such as bank deposits and investments.

When addressing the issue of shielding step-children from the severest level of taxation, at the same time ensuring the surviving spouse is properly looked after, one weapon in our armoury is the assurance vie, or life assurance investment bond. On the death of the bond holder, any beneficiary can inherit without discrimination. In the holder of the assurance vie was below age 70 when the policy was taken out, each beneficiary can inherit €152,500 without a tax liability. For amounts above €152,500 the tax rate is 20% or 31.25% if the amount inherited is above €700,000. This is per beneficiary and not per assurance vie. But what if I don’t want my money to pass to my children or step-children on my death, but rather to go to my spouse?

This is where it gets clever! By inserting a Demembrement Clause within the assurance vie policy, your spouse can be granted usufruit or life interest in the assets held in the policy, thereby ensuring protection to him or her.

And there’s more. By drawing capital out of the deceased’s policy, the spouse is creating a debt that will be repaid on the spouse’s subsequent death, paid for out of his or her estate, thereby further reducing the amount of any inheritance tax liability. This is what we call true financial planning, and this forms the bed-rock of what we do here in Spectrum.

If you have personal or financial circumstances that you feel may benefit from a financial planning review, please contact me direct on the number below. You can also contact me by email at derek.winsland@spectrum-ifa.com or call our office in Limoux to make an appointment. Alternatively, I conduct a drop-in clinic most Fridays (holidays excepting), when you can pop in to speak to me. Our office telephone number is 04 68 31 14 10.

Spanish Succession Tax (Inheritance tax)

By Chris Webb
This article is published on: 16th March 2017

If you are a resident of Spain it is important to understand that there will be liabilities due to the Spanish government in the event of a death. Whether it’s you that is inheriting part of an estate or it’s your estate being distributed the taxman is going to want his share.

Many British nationals don’t realise that depending on the asset and its location there may also be a claim from the UK taxman. Just because you are a non UK resident it does not eliminate the requirement to settle taxes in both the UK and Spain. Spanish succession tax will be due either when the assets being inherited are located in Spain, such as a property, even if the recipient of the asset lives outside of Spain OR if the assets are based outside of Spain but the recipient lives in Spain.

For example: if you leave your Spanish property to your children who are now UK residents they will be liable to pay succession tax to the Spanish government. On the flip side if you receive an inheritance from the UK and you are a Spanish resident then again you have to pay tax in Spain.

As mentioned above, if you are a British national and are resident in Spain you could be liable to UK inheritance tax as well as Spanish succession tax. In the UK they require all worldwide assets to be declared, as you will be considered “UK domiciled” by the government. It is almost impossible to be considered as anything other than UK domiciled, even if you haven’t lived in the UK for some time.

There is no double tax treaty signed between the UK and Spain when it comes to inheritance, however if tax has been paid in the UK the amount is usually deductible against the Spanish liability.

To complicate matters further, Spain have a standard set of “State Rules” which lay down the rates and allowances for succession tax as well as individual “Autonomous rules” which means things are different from one community to another. Detailed below are these state rules:
The tax rates differ depending on the value of the amount inherited. These range from 7.65% on the first €7,933, up to 34% on €797,555 and over.
Beneficiaries are graded into four different groups and the more remote the beneficiary’s relationship is to the deceased the lower the tax allowance and the higher the tax rates. These four groups are:

Natural and adopted children under 21
Natural and adopted children aged 21 and over, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, spouses
in-laws and their ascendants/descendants, stepchildren, cousins, nieces, nephews, uncles, aunts
all others including unmarried partners

Allowances are available between husband and wife or direct line ascendants/descendants, but this is set at just short of €16.000. If an inheritor is also a direct line descendant under the age of 21, there is an additional allowance of €3,990 for each year they are under 21. The total of this additional allowance is restricted to €47,858 per child or grandchild.

For more distant relatives (e.g. cousins) the exemption is set at €7,933. There is no exemption for beneficiaries who are not related.

A main home in Spain may be virtually exempt from Spanish succession tax provided the beneficiaries are either your spouse, parents or children and they continue to own the property for ten years from the date of death.

The exemption can also apply where the beneficiary is a more distant relative over the age of 65 and they have lived with you for at least two years before death. If these conditions are met, the value of the house can be reduced by 95% in calculating the tax base liable, subject to a maximum reduction in value per inheritor of €122,606. It is important to note that this is only applies principal private residence and is owned by a Spanish resident.

Some examples of where the Autonomous rules differ from the state rules:

In Valenciana, spouses and children receive an allowance of €100,000 each. They can also benefit from a 75% reduction in the amount of succession tax payable.

In Murcia, the taxable inheritance for children under 21 is reduced by 99%, while older children and spouses get a 50% reduction.

In Andalucía, spouses and children can benefit from a 100% exemption for inheritances up to €175,000, provided they are not worth more than €402,268.

Cataluña offers a 99% allowance for spouses. Other Group I and II relatives receive a relief depending on the amount of their inheritance. Personal reductions are €100,000 for spouses and children (more for those under 21), €50,000 for other descendants, €30,000 for ascendants and €8,000 for other relatives. The 95% main home relief is up to a property value of €500,000, with the amount pro-rated among the beneficiaries (minimum €180,000 limit each). The property need only be kept five years rather than the 10 year state rule.

To summarise the key points of succession tax:

Tax is paid by each recipient, rather than by the estate
Spouses are not exempt
Allowances under the state rules are very low – just €15,957 for spouses, descendants over 21 and ascendants, €7,993 for other close relatives and nil for everyone else
Under state rules, tax is applied at progressive rates from 7.65% (for assets under €7,993) to 34% (for assets over €797,555). However, multipliers depending on the relationship between the two can increase this rate
If you leave assets to your spouse, who then passes them on to your children when he/she dies, succession tax will be due again on the second death
Succession tax also applies to pension funds
Tax is paid at the time of the inheritance, even if the funds are not accessed at the time. There is a six-month period to pay the tax after the death, although it is possible to apply for an extension in certain cases
Succession tax is governed by both state and local autonomous community rules; each community has the right to amend the state rules
Whether the state or the local autonomous community rules apply for each case, depends on where the beneficiary and the donor are resident and where the assets inherited/gifted are located
If you are UK domiciled you need to consider both the UK inheritance tax rules as well as the Spanish succession tax rules

Whilst the Spectrum IFA Group are not tax advisers, we can help to put you in touch with the right people. It is important to understand the various succession tax rules and how they apply to your situation, as well as how they affect any UK liability. You need specialist advice to understand the intricacies of the two tax regimes, and how to lower both tax liabilities and potentially save your heirs a considerable amount of tax. You can often combine your estate planning with your personal tax planning.

*Sources: Advoco, LegalforSpain, Globalpropertyguide, GovUK, AILO