My dad died very recently. I met with my siblings yesterday to reminisce and discuss funeral arrangements. As we don't live close, we also took the opportunity to discuss what we may do with his property. We all have different skills and the probate and legal stuff will fall to me. I'm also an executor. This isn't an area I know much about so I'm finding my feet with it all and the different things I need to consider are constantly whirring around my brain.
My dad was a Widower, my mum died 7 years ago and everything went to him. His will leaves everything to my siblings and I equally. My understanding is that as he was a widower and is leaving his property to his children, that there will be no inheritance tax if the estate is valued below 1 million, which it will be.
One of things my dad owns is a paddock in his village. It currently has a few animals that live there which we are rehoming. He always said to us that when he was gone we should apply for planning permission and build on the land. He really liked the idea that we could make a considerable amount of money from that, provide house deposits for our children etc. The village contains a lot of bungalows where elderly people live and we could fit several on the paddock. There's a good chance we'd get permission.
I don't know what the paddock is worth now, we'll get it valued. It's value will increase a lot when it has planning permission. Once we have it, we'll either build and sell the houses ourselves or sell to a developer. Are there any tax implications if the value of the estate increases above the IHT threshold after the grant of probate is obtained and the estate distributed? Is there anything else I need to consider that I may not have thought of?