Finders international probate genealogy firm is calling on the Chancellor to cut inheritance tax in next week’s Budget.
With signs that the Government is set to freeze or even increase inheritance tax, Finders says this is a move which would potentially see many more heirs hit by the tax if house prices rise suddenly post-recession.
Currently inheritance tax is payable at 40% on all assets worth more than £325,000. A freeze or rise would raise millions for the Government in the future but would come at a price for heirs. Meanwhile, the Conservatives have pledged to increase the threshold to estates over £1m if they get into power.
Finders is a professional firm of international probate genealogists and it works mainly with solicitors wishing to trace beneficiaries identified in wills or upon intestacy. Its main business is that of identifying and tracing unknown or missing heirs and beneficiaries worldwide.
Commenting, Daniel Curran, Managing Director, Finders, said:
“Finders specializes in helping clients – lawyers, trustees, executors or administrators and personal representatives – through the often formidable task of identifying and tracing heirs and locating missing or unknown beneficiaries. In undertaking this work we have seen a growing number of heirs, often from middle-income families, who face paying inheritance tax due to the rising value of estates in recent years.
“Estate values have dropped off slightly as a result of the recession, but are likely to resume their sharp rise post-recovery. This rise, coupled with a freeze or hike in inheritance tax will see even more heirs faced with a bill for inheritance tax.
“As a firm who works closely with heirs, Finders takes the view that inheritance tax should be cut so as to ensure that heirs are able to get as much benefit as possible from the estates to which they are entitled.”
