My sister (Dsis1) very sadly died last autumn after being diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour just 18 months before. She made me executor in her will, and I have been going through things to value her estate (which is liable for IHT), ready to apply for probate.
Before I can do that, I just have a few questions that I haven’t been able to find straightforward answers for, if anyone can help?
Q1: When Dsis1 was losing her mobility in her final months of life, she bought our other sister (Dsis2) a used car for £3k to support her care - to take Dsis1 out, bring her to hospital appointments etc. The car was registered in Dsis2’s name. Would this be classed as a lifetime gift? Or is it somehow part of Dsis1’s estate? Or neither?
Q2: In the government’s guidance around exceptions to lifetime gifts, it includes "payments to help with another person’s living costs, such as an elderly relative or a child under 18”. In the past few years, Dsis1 supported our two younger siblings’ living costs at various points: DB while at university, and Dsis2 when she was out of work between jobs. The amounts add up to a few thousands pounds. Would this be included in this exception? Or is it only for dependents?
Q3: Two years ago, Dsis1 gave £2k to our dad and stepmum as a wedding gift. The guidance says "wedding or civil ceremony gifts of up to £1,000 per person" are exempt from the lifetime gifts rules. Would the £2k gift therefore be exempt - as the gift was for both of them? (I just wonder why the guidance doesn’t say “up to £2,000 per couple”.)
Q4: This is a delicate one. On top of very gruelling chemo and radiotherapy treatments, my Dsis was understandably throwing everything else she could at her cancer - keto diet, all kinds of supplements etc. For about a year, she had my DB acquire some CBD oil (strong stuff), for which she paid him by bank transfer. These payments weren’t gifts obviously, but DB wouldn’t be able to produce any proof of purchase if you see what I mean! My DB wants me to declare the payments as gifts, as he’s nervous about the bank transfers being queried. This doesn’t seem right to me, but I don’t know if these things are ever queried!
Sorry for the lengthy post, and thanks for reading if you got this far. Any insights that anyone can share would be so helpful, thank you.
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Lifetime gifts rules - any probate experts out there?
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MsShopper · 14/01/2021 00:22
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