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Original poster

Does everyone do this ?

32 replies

DoreenCorkhill · 05/09/2026 16:24

Strange question I guess but my sister asked me last week if my husband and I had signed our house over to our children yet ( DH is 65 in a few weeks so wonder if that prompted the question). She advised me she and several of her friends had signed there homes over to their children in a bid to avoid inheritance tax .
A quick google suggested to me this was not a great idea with more negatives than benefits but just got me wondering am I missing out on some new legislation or reform ? I know IHT had changed a bit bit - but to me it’s like any other tax you have to pay it .

OP posts:
Octavia64 · 05/09/2026 18:24

HMRC know about this and it’s not a good tax avoidance scheme (if it ever was).

if the parents keep living in it without paying rent then it’s pretty much treated as if it never happened

OneOpalOwl · 05/09/2026 17:30

If they continue to live in it, then they need to pay rent to the children or it is a Gift With Reservation of Benefit (GWROB) and essentially still part of their estate until they move out.

Most married couples will have nil rate bands of £1m so most don’t even pay IHT. Something like less than 5% of death estates pay!! Although the rules to bring pensions into IHT from April 2027 might change that!

If you think you’ve got assets of more than £1m it’s worth taking proper advice tbh.

TheSmallAssassin · 05/09/2026 17:24

Sounds bonkers to me!

FlorenceBlack · 05/09/2026 17:15

If the adult child got divorced the property could be taken into account

UniquePinkSwan · 05/09/2026 17:09

Absolutely not

Hatty65 · 05/09/2026 16:48

I'm not intending to do this. I would feel insecure knowing I'd handed over the only thing I have in the world that is stopping me being on the streets, even though my adult DC are lovely and I'm not expecting them to do put me out.

Having said that, DHs Mum did do this. We didn't know (although I wonder how DH managed to miss the fact that she told him back in the 90s apparently that she'd transfererred her bungalow into his and his siblings names).

She sold it last year as it was getting too much for her and her tenants had moved out.The money was divided between the DC. She had moved in with her DD during Covid and has basically been there in a granny annexe ever since. She is over 90 now and still going strong, but I'm in awe that she did that, even though it has obviously worked for them.

Also, we had to pay capital gains tax on it, because it counted as a second home. If she'd just left it to them in her will I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have had to pay IHT. It sold for less than £200k.

I don't want to.

Sparrowsandbudgies · 05/09/2026 16:40

I would never do this. I don’t know anyone who has done this. It leaves you very vulnerable. You never know if you can ever fully trust your children.

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