To think that parents cannot leave money to severely disabled offspring free of IHT

This - In my experience individuals who have inherited money don't actually live better than those who are on benefits and care packages.

I feel sorry for your other children who are being left out of the will just so your disabled son can carry on having nice holidays and clothes.

I don’t agree with inheritance tax full stop. It penalises those that have worked hard to pass something on to their children. However in a choice between taxing you and a farmer it will be you I’m afraid

No, it doesn't. It penalises those who hoard their wealth and don't spread it around ahead of time.

The one scenario where I do think it needs reform is where there are dependent children (which could be disabled adults).

If you don't want to pay it, give it to your kids earlier on in your life.

Not sure if it has been mentioned but you should look into adding a clause into your will so that the money is placed in a Trust for a Vulnerable Benificiary.

This means the money can not be taken into account for any means tested benefits.

I am probably grumpy this morning I usually have more empathy. I think other people have expressed my thoughts better. If we don’t have IT would it be better that the wealthy are not entitled to benefits at all? My dad was disabled. He was on disability benefits and so was not able to have any inheritance as he was on benefits. My Mum worked all her life and has dementia . She is now in a care home and all her money bar £ 25 pound a week pocket money pays for a very basic care home. We all have to suck things up sometimes .Life seems unfair a lot of the time and society is becoming more individualistic.

Bringing farmers into this is a false equivalency. The issue there is that the asset value of the land may be high, but those assets are needed for the business to function.

As for your own situation, consult a FA for your best approach. Good luck.

I have some sympathy for your position, but what about the disabled people who don't inherit anything from their parents? They also haven't done anything to deserve that situation.
So, on balance, I'd rather increase the amount of inheritance tax that wealthier families pay and increase state support for all disabled people. Including those who are unlucky enough to have parents that wouldn't ever be able to provide for them.
Even after inheritance tax, your ds will still be better off than the vast majority of disabled people.

I agree with this tbh. You want an exemption from IHT to people in your DS’s position, but that would simply further widen the gap between him and all the people with similar (or more severe) needs who will have no such fund behind them.

It would also open up a load of undesirable unintended consequences - we’d have parents trying to prove their child is sufficiently disabled to qualify for such an IHT exemption - leaving everything to the disabled child simply because it won’t be taxed - etc.

As PP says your child will already be far better off than the majority.

Also this has nothing to do with farmers. I don’t necessarily support the farmers’ exemption either but the two are not related, well no more than any two other tax rules are related.

Yes exactly, or the state would pick up the tab anyway. It saves money, quite apart from the human aspect.

I bet there are loads more disabled adults in this position than there are estates affected by ending the agricultural IHT relief.

OP, I am so sorry for the situation you find yourself in. My child is mildly disabled so we hope he will be able to work in adulthood- it must be terrifying to think otherwise.

I would support a campaign on this issue.

I also have a severely disabled teenager who will never be able to work, I’m not worried about his future because I know the state will provide for him. I know similarly disabled adults who are solely reliant on the state and they live good lives and have lots of opportunities provided for them. So I think the OP is catastrophising a fair bit.
I’m more worried for myself tbh, by the time he is an adult I will have spent 20+ years out of the work place caring for him. None of it’s ideal but there hasn’t been any other choice.

Stop having a go at farmers, many smaller farms will be caught up in this and worrying about it. You don’t understand it. The money in smaller farms is in land, buildings, machinery which are all needed to farm. I hope you can get some specialist tax advice to help your situation.

I agree with that, I have known people who have done something like that to protect a disabled child.

Op, don't feel upset about the farmers, making comparisons does not help. Quetion Time was very good last night, this being a major topic of discussion. Many farmers are asset rich and cash poor.

Could you buy your son a home just now so he is familiar with it ? Then when your no longer here he can inherit as much as is allowed to live off along with pip . I appreciate its not the lifestyle hes maybe used to but it might be a bit better than living on just pip / universal credit alone when the money runs out ? Im sure a financial advisor can help .
However i agree with you , ultimately what you want to do is leave provision for your son's care which means he isn't having to rely on benefits ( which in turn benefits the state ?)
However i also think that no disabled person should have to live in poverty ,as a society we should ensure benefits are enough to have a nice life as their circumstances are not their fault .

@WeWillGetThereInTheEnd

What will happen to the DC who are completely incapable of caring for themselves? Are you saying the threshold will just change as they can’t close ALL care homes, surely?

I can see that you are in a very difficult situation. A relative of mine is in a similar one as regards finding care for a disabled child after they die. I have no idea about their financial situation.
I know nothing about the law but think you should take legal advice, specifically from a law firm who understands the law surrounding disabilities and making provision in this specific case. I assume that these exist.
Good luck.

Sorry OP I have read your subsequent posts and realise you are pretty well versed on the topic of trusts.

Everything that @Sceptical123 wrote above.

Appalling insensitivity on this thread. How dare the OP have a bit of money AND a disabled child?

My disabled DS will never work either. DH and I are trying to provide him with a small buy-to-let business so that he can have an income and some independence. State provision for his disability has been woeful, so we fear him being dependent on it. The OP is absolutely reasonable.

My DH’s disabled DC can’t get himself dressed or wipe his own arse. He has absolutely zero prospects of ever being employed - he can’t even be in the house unattended let alone have meaningful employment.

I appreciate the difficultly OP.

I’m sorry for the situation your son is in, but it’s not at all comparable to farming. The farm inheritance is a business - they are taxing the inheritance of fields and barns, not of £3 million cash. It’s more akin to taxing the clothes he’s wearing than the cash in your bank.

You need to talk to a financial advisor asap and see if you can get a trust set up for your son. I know the tax is painful, but if you’re in the position to leave him £1million then he is significantly better off than many people in his situation.

Where do you think IHT goes? You’ve advised your son will need care and benefits for the rest of his life. The taxpayer will pay for this (rightly). It’s great tax can pay for this.

My adult cousin has autism, his meltdowns alone mean he will never be able work, or advocate for himself. His parents worry constantly about his future. People who don't know anyone in this situation perhaps don't understand the stress it causes, or see the toll it takes on the parents. However, the main issue here is that disabled adults shouldn't have to rely on an inheritance to have their needs met.

OP we have the same dilemma and I agree - do get some advice though as if you leave him a cash sum it might impact his entitlement to benefits and would be an administrative nightmare if that was the case and you weren’t around to sort it.

It is relevant. I agree.

It is relevant because it it more important to feed the nation than it is for your son to live in the comfort he has become accustomed to. There are many disabled children living in residential care that have nothing at all. They manage just fine.

I don’t agree with inheritance tax full stop. It penalises those that have worked hard to pass something on to their children. However in a choice between taxing you and a farmer it will be you I’m afraid.

Getting rid of family farms, which is what IHT on farmland will cause in a couple of generations will mean the productive countryside will be ALL mega farms, most likely owned by overseas investors and the mega rich. Carbon tax and green washing industrial pollution tree planting schemes.
Food will rocket in price.
The Farmhouses and 20 acres will be bought by the wealthy as holiday homes.
Food security is a massive concern in these turbulent times.

I understand your desire to leave your kids your assets though OP - we have an only child for that reason, that I know if we die they will be okay financially. I don’t believe anyone should pay inheritance tax.

I have great sympathy for her situation but she actually didn’t come to ask for advice. As she has said she has taken professional advice on wills and financial planning.