Planning how to pass your estate on doesn’t have to mean
complications, legal jargon and huge bills. Wills, Probate and
Inheritance Tax For Dummies, 2nd Edition takes you through
the process step-by-step and gives you all the information you need
to ensure that your affairs are left in good order. It shows you
how to plan and write your will, minimise the stress of probate,
and ensure that your nearest and dearest are protected from a large
inheritance tax bill.
Discover how to:
* Decide if a will is right for you
* Value your assets
* Leave your home through a will
* Appoint executors and trustees
* Choose beneficiaries
* Draw up a DIY will
* Work out how inheritance tax works and if you’re liable
to it
* Find out what can and can’t be taxed
Inhoudsopgave
Introduction 1
Part I: Planning Your Will 7
Chapter 1: Preparing for the Inevitable 9
Chapter 2: Recognising the Benefits of Making a Will 19
Chapter 3: Totting Up the Value of Your Estate 35
Chapter 4: Deciding Who Gets What 51
Chapter 5: Leaving Your Home in Your Will 63
Part II: Writing Your Will 75
Chapter 6: Choosing the Right People to Follow Your Wishes 77
Chapter 7: Getting It in Writing: Drawing Up Your Will 93
Chapter 8: Fine-Tuning Your Will 103
Chapter 9: Ringing the Changes: When and How to Change a Will 119
Chapter 10: Making Clear Your Funeral Wishes 135
Part III: Managing Probate 143
Chapter 11: What To Do When Someone Dies 145
Chapter 12: Pro-what? The Basics of the Probate Process 153
Chapter 13: Dealing with the Estate: First Steps 163
Chapter 14: Distributing the Estate 175
Part IV: Taxing Times: Inheritance Planning 197
Chapter 15: Introducing Inheritance Tax 199
Chapter 16: Simple Steps to Reduce Inheritance Tax 207
Chapter 17: Rolling Out the Big Guns: Understanding Trusts 223
Chapter 18: Using Trusts to Help Your Family 241
Chapter 19: Taking Care of Business: Inheritance Tax and Your Firm 251
Part V: The Part of Tens 261
Chapter 20: Ten Items to Keep with Your Will 263
Chapter 21: Ten Problem Wills to Avoid 269
Chapter 22: Ten Tips for Getting Your Estate into Tax-Saving Shape 275
Appendix 283
Index 287
Over de auteur
Julian Knight is the Money Editor at The Independent on Sunday. Previously he worked as a personal finance reporter for BBC News, writing regularly for the BBC News website and contributing to Radio Five Live. Julian has written about personal finance for a variety of magazines, national newspapers and websites. He is the author of Retiring Wealthy For Dummies and The British Citizenship Test For Dummies.