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

[Noras]

Frankly I have been quite upset about farmers kicking up a fuss about IHT when they can transfer 3 million pounds of wealth IHT free and after that it only costs 20% which can be paid over a decade interest free.

As a parent of a disabled adult child I can only transfer one million pounds like anyone else and any unpaid IHT has to be paid over 10 years with 7% interest due.

We have other kids and can’t exclude them from our wills so that eats into the IHT allowance.

My son will struggle to work in any form of paid job.

I was discussing his placement in supported living with a social worker yesterday as a pretty likely destination

His life will inevitably be one of benefits eg universal credit and PIP

We have left % more to him due to his profound needs.

Our combined estate will face IHT charges especially with the fiscal drag.

So through no fault of my son he will live in relative poverty except for what is left after IHT into a vulnerable persons trust.

My son is used to nicer things eg holidays/ clothes etc and has some awareness of his current nicer life style even if he is not that driven by material things.

We would have to deprive ourselves of a decent retirement to ensure he is decently provided for,

I am heart broken to have given birth to someone who will live in relative poverty assuming he has a long life and the monies inherited have to cover say 45/50 years.

I am not the only parent waking up at 3am in fear of their kid’s future it’s a well known thing about parents of kids with disability.

AIBU to think that the Government should allow an IHT allowance for dependants who are classed as high needs eg PIP high or mid levels eg not really able to live independently etc? I can’t believe that they make no allowance in IHT terms for the disabled. As it is his care and needs have been an additional expense to us throughout his life eg 1:1 swimming lessons ,Ed Psych reports, SALT, private OT , personal trainers etc. This always exceeds disability benefits.

Wow I'm not sure why you think slamming farmers is helping your cause. You clearly know nothing about farmers. They are the ones feeding your family. Their assets which means land, machinery etc is worth millions, they don't actually have that in the bank. Unlike you.
You need to make arrangements for your son.
You've lost any sympathy by your hatred for that which you cannot understand. Go educate yourself.

This.
It’s what all the wealthy folk do, and it’s one of the things the farmers could do to remediate their current predicament.

I really sympathise with your situation and the farmers’ situation. Governments often seem to be better at making people’s lives worse rather than improving them.

You are being totally unreasonable to link your situation to this tax position with farmers.
Both are important . It‘s not a race to the bottom .

Op. I haven't read every answer as they are mostly depressing but we are in a similar situation. My husband is a lawyer so we have a proper will setting up a trust for our 19 year old son. However we are having similar worries. We have the added problem that we had DS late and he is an only child. We have no one to be a trustee or even a will executor who is younger than ds and lives in this country. The one younger relative in her 20s who is close to ds and lives in the UK has a gambling problem and not suitable as someone to manage finances. I really worry what will happen to ds when we both die. He is likely to be in his 40s or 50s ( we are both 60s)

Getting independent advice ( which we have tried several times) feels like a waste of time with lots of "well you can do this but .....( Inset other tax you are liable for) "

As you say, only the mega rich can take advantage of most tax breaks in a way that doesn't leave them unable to afford to live now

I wish you luck and a gentle reminder that this place is probably not the place to vent about financial worries. I've been on here for 20 years and it can be a supportive place sometimes as long as money and politics are not discussed.

What a difficult situation, I sumpathise. Rather than focusing on IHT changes, I would want to see disabled people like your aon better provided for by the benefits system.

outside of the UK, benefits are seen as more of a social insurance that anyone can use in time of need, without stigma. I think that’s a healthier way for society as well as affected families, but with the right wing media we have in the UK, it’s hard to even have that conversation.

Sorry but I think everyone should pay the same. Imagine the nightmare if there all sorts of different schemes for different personal circumstances. The only fair way is everyone paying the same, and with 1 million you are not hard up and he won’t be either.

You can pay into a pension for a child without it effecting their benefits (I think). Check with HMRC. If you had started when DC was born and continued I read you could have amassed a big pot by the time they are 50.

I don't think it's farmer hate as much as wanting what the farmers are getting to be extended to specific vulnerable groups.

Very few people will fall into her particular situation so on the face of it would it be such a hardship. However there'll be people, as we speak, who will be looking for loopholes.

This seems the exact scenario that would be helped by a trust and a lifetime interest in a property.

Tax planning is key. And this is exactly what I say about the farmers/IHT issue. They have generations to work out the tax planning just as other family businesses have to. They just don’t want to do it.

As a disabled person the non- means tested benefit is PIP, nothing else.

I am not expert in this area, however, I think you need to seek excellent financial advice. I used to work in learning disabilities. I am not sure of the exact details but it did appear that individuals whose families left them money didn't see it.

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How do you get to £3k? I have £110k in an isa which earns me £16.50ish a day. Even leaving aside the wonderful effect of compound interest that is £6022.50 per annum. You are looking at leaving your son three times that.

You'll get a lot of responses based on envy.

Speak to an estate planner. They are very imaginative and my mind is much more at rest since we did this.

Will your son be living in a care home or will be supported placement. Will other children be trustees?

@Noras tax planning and financial advice will.sort it. You will have to be mindful of safeguarding benefits. I assume your other children will have a role to play in safeguarding.

you are aware, I trust, that farmers/farming families are not exempt from bringing disabled children into the world or from caring for them

You have drawn a disgraceful parallel. Farmers live on their land as well as work it. It co.orisea their home as well as their livelihood. Rural communities are a fundamental part of this nation.

i would be happy for everyone to be treated the same with IHT but they are not.

There were owners of businesses who kept the business until after their death then sold it having got the relief.

Farmers who got the IHT relief then sold a field to a solar farm.

People who have millions and can give millions away and live 7 years.

As said maybe a flat rate of 15 to 20% on everything and no lifetime gifts or indeed other allowances would be a fair system.

The finer things of life in my opinion would be a half glass of cider in the pub or maybe a cheese toastie in a cafe. My son’s idea of the finer things of life is to get really excited by TK Mexx and the bargains there on a college life skills trip. Also he likes the opportunity to but his Pa a drink.

That's why you tax plan, to make sure you minimise the tax paid.

The reason I support farmers is that having a thriving UK farming sector is a public good, not just a private good. I don't want massive mega agri-businesses coming in to buy up small family farms when they can't afford the IHT.

You can legimately want to change your particular circumstances without wishing it to be worse for farmers y'know.

I will totally admit that I have only read the first half of this thread but there is a way to leave money to your son without paying iht. You can put it into a vulnerable person's trust for him. This also means that it won't impact on his benefits.

Some charities run online information sessions about how to set up wills and trusts funds for disabled children. I did one that was run by cerebra.

It does coat £2000 to set up a trust and where are management fees if you don't know someone who can manage it for you but it is a wonder way to provide for your child if they wont be able to do it for themself.

Let's say he inherited £300,000

he could buy himself a nice little flat outright, that way he's always going to have a nice home. Even if then he claimed benefits to live off for the rest of his life with no mortgage to pay he'd have enough to live a pretty comfortable life, I think your being quite unreasonable to say he will live
in poverty, no one I know disabled or not has been left 300 grand and noones wearing rags and eating out the bin.

There’s only so much tax planning you can do unless you have a really secure decent pension - you can’t give away money you might need.

Seriously!

Give money to your other kids ahead of time free of IHT.

Then leave the rest to your son. Then your allowance goes a lot further.

IHT is an issue where a parent dies and there is a dependant child of any age. But tax planning advice is available, so go and get some instead of asking well meaning people on the internet.

As for farmers, very few of them will be affected. Much like the ULEZ, it's been whipped up to be much bigger than it is.

Much more than that in some cases. I worked in a supported housing service where people had 24/7 one to one, and in some cases two to one, care. That costs at least 100k a year in wages alone.