Inheritance

[crapmemory]

Instead of waiting for me and OH to die, is there any legal way we can leave our house to our sons while we are still alive? TIA

[woofgang]

then it would be a gift and not an inheritance....

[TonyV]

Yes you can transfer the property into their names tomorrow, providing they will take the risk e.g. You not paying bills and any emergency repairs.

[ubasses]

Yes you can but a a few pitfalls. Have a read below.

https://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/money/personal-finance/giving/what-you-need-to-know-about-signing-property-over-to-your-children

[TonyV]

Good link Ubasses sets out all the potential pit falls.

[ToraToraTora]

yes, give it to them and live for at least 7 years!

[TonyV]

From memory you get a percentage of the inheritance tax each year till you get to year 7.

[ladybirder]

You really must read ubasses' link before doing anything.

[bednobs]

7 years does not count is a significant reason is to avoid care home fees. Councils can go back for much longer than that to look at disposal of assets

[ToraToraTora]

yes, very good article in ubases link.

[ToraToraTora]

one i hadn't considered was if you outlive your kids:
"If you outlive your children, you need to be aware that the property will be passed on to their beneficiaries." - you could be daisied out on yer southend by your grand kids!

[naomi24]

Our friends have made their children joint owners with them of their property.

[Peter Pedant]

// yes, give it to them and live for at least 7 years!//
is the wrong and predictable answer

and has NOT been the case for at least 50 y ( in England )

I am certain Ubasses 's link ( Hi Ubasses - mwah mwah ) has advice on getting over the otherwise fatal error of 'interest in possession'. so basically you have to follow the rules that avoid or extinguish 'interest in possession' or (reservation of benefit)

If you are still at the stage of - wot dat den - then you MUST pay for advice and not take Mrs Mopps ideas darn de road at face value.

sell and give and survive is the obvious answer
but dont sell and give and then live in the house they buy with the moolah. ( I am not sure if you can if you pay a market rent)

getting it wrong is expensive ( for them)

if you are at the stage of reading the above or ubasses URL and asking - what dat all about den ?
then you need to see a wills lawyer and pay for their advice.

a wills trust is also a bad idea - my sister in law expected me to say that and got humpy when I said instead- crikey they havent worked for at least 50 years !

if you want to give the money and keep it as well ! then you deffo need advice that you pay for

[Deskdiary]

I'd do it now if I were you - because if Labour in their current guise are ever elected, anybody who has any money or property or who has the temerity to do reasonably well out of life, is going to be well and truly rogered.

The current Labour leadership hate the thought of inheritance, because in their twisted minds it's unearned income which should go to the state....hence the recently published paper by Chief Lefty Lunatic George Monbiot, but endorsed by the Labour leadership, of effectively lowering the threshold before inheritance tax kicks in to £125k (and I bet that stuck in their craw as they'd prefer a £0.00 threshold).

[Peter Pedant]

// you could be daisied out on yer southend by your grand kids!//

he means sarf-end !

yes you could - part of the advice you pay for wd be to ensure that you are not made penurious. Making them joint owners I think has no effect on the tax ... do not do that without advice
( and if you arent worried about tax - you do mean transfer tax efficiently ? then just wait and let them pay the tax anyway)

take advice before you act - doing it may involve tax, and the undoing it oops because it was a bad idea - may involve a second dollop, ( and not cancel out )

[Peter Pedant]

oh and those awful lefties were going to end the CGT exemption on selling the residence ( first house )

on the grounds that it will dampen the rise in house prices....

[fiction-factory]

I'm wondering what the rationale is for doing this.
There may be other ways of obtaining he benefits you hope will accrue to you and/or your children.
There are some things we don't know which may affect the best way of proceeding. For example-are they still living with you? Do they already have houses? What is the approx value of the house and of the rest of your estate- does it fall above the IHT threshold.

[ToraToraTora]

PP that's the rules of inheritance tax, 7 years tapered, end of. There are other factors but that is correct.

[Gizmonster]

My father signed his house over to me more than 7 years ago and in my will, if I should go before him, the house passes back to him.

[crapmemory]

Lots of good advice from you all. My brain is frazzled, lots more things to think about. Thank you all.

[Peter Pedant]

//[PP] There are other factors but that is correct.// 3T no less

I shall treasure this moment - ( like a conversion on the road to Damascus) -

[ as I have seen in x-examination]
CM - you didnt just wake up one day and say - oh I wonder how to transfer my house ! I will ask AB ! You wanted to transfer it for some particular reason - now which was that ?
(expecting the answer, tax minimisation)

yes CM you should pay for advice and beforehand work out what you want and why -