10 steps to protect your family from a potential Inheritance Tax bill

1. The main ways to avoid Inheritance Tax are to spend your money while you are alive or give it away.

2. Work out how much Inheritance Tax might be due on your estate and regularly review it so you know what potential liability there is.

3. Find out if the rules which took effect from October 2007 which mean that married couples and registered civil partners can now make use of each other’s tax-free allowance without special tax planning apply to you.

4. If you set up special wills to deal with Inheritance Tax, review if they are still relevant.

5. Make full use of any tax-free gifts you can make while you are alive.

6. Put life insurance policies under an appropriate trust.

7. If there’s going to be a big Inheritance Tax bill, think about taking out an insurance policy for your heirs to pay
the bill.

8. Make a will if you don’t have one, otherwise the people you want to inherit may not.

9. Anything you leave to charity is free of Inheritance Tax, so it can be a useful way of reducing your potential Inheritance Tax liability while benefiting a good cause.

10. Never take steps that might leave you struggling for money while you are alive in order to save tax after you’ve died.