Page 5 - November 2019 Newsletter :: Bullimores

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Protecting your assets Pensioners Beware

YOU MAY THINK THAT PRE-NUPTIAL AND SOLLA (Society of Later Life Advisers) are drawing their
POST-NUPTIAL AGREEMENTS ARE STRICTLY members attention to the following interesting facts.
FOR CELEBRITIES AND MULTIMILLIONAIRES It would appear that 160,000 elderly people were receiving
– BUT YOU WOULD BE WRONG. continuing healthcare in 2015/16 at a cost of £3.6bn. NHS

England expects this to rise to £5.2bn by 2021 and at the
What a couple accumulate between them during their
marriage or civil partnership is usually shared equally same time they expect the local Clinical Commissioning
on divorce, but there may be circumstances where both Groups to save nearly £1bn in costs each year by that date.
parties agree to ring-fence their assets or gifts made Clearly the cash-strapped Government have got to find
by parents and grandparents. A pre-nup can now be the money from somewhere and here are a few ways
enforced by the courts as part of their discretion in proposed recently by the Labour Party:
financial settlement cases, provided all of the conditions 1. At present people working past retirement age do not
are met and unless it would not be fair to hold the parties pay National Insurance; the proposal is they should pay
to the agreement. Legal advice is needed but here are at least 12% National Insurance as well as the employer.
some initial tips on how to broach a difficult subject if you
are planning to make a substantial gift to a family member. 2. A recommendation from The Resolution Foundation
that inheritance tax is abolished to be replaced with a
DON’T PUT OFF THE DISCUSSION
– Pre-nups should not be signed under duress and there tax free lifetime limit for recepients of £125,000 before
should be at least three clear weeks between signing the a gift tax becomes payable. This is similar to the Irish
agreement and a wedding ceremony. system which can increase tax take significantly. It is
estimated that this could raise £5bn a year.
USE STATISTICS TO MAKE YOUR CASE
– More than 40% of marriages end in divorce so make it The Resolution Foundation is also in favour of reforming
clear that it is not a judgment on them but a recognition of Council Tax replacing it with flat rate percentage tax on
the hard facts. property that raises more tax on houses of high value.
BE OPEN ABOUT YOUR INTENTIONS
– Be clear about how much you plan to give and what
you would like it to be used for. If you have offered a gift
without conditions it is hard to apply some retrospectively.

TAKE BOTH PARTNERS INTO YOUR CONFIDENCE
– Be transparent about your intentions with both partners. Teacher: Tell me frankly, do you say prayers
before eating?
LOOK AHEAD
– A pre-nup can take into account future gifts that you Pupil: No sir, I don’t have to, my Mum is a good cook.
might make or bequest on your death. This may mean
there is no need to alter the pre-nup, although each party Teacher: Your composition on ‘My Dog’ is exactly
should keep this under review with legal advice because the same as your brother’s… did you copy?
circumstances and rules can change. Also check for any
changes in inheritance tax rules. Pupil: No, miss.
It’s the same dog.
SHARE THE LOVE
– Even if you don’t approve of the marriage, remember it’s
not your choice and you have to show respect so welcome
your child’s or grandchild’s partner into your family
especially while discussing financial affairs.
HOW TO EMBARK ON A PRE-NUP
– Get the job done properly and look for a specialist family
lawyer to draft an agreement, even more important with a
post-nup.

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