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Nil Carborundum Illegitimi - Inheritance Tax .

When I was 21 I would have died for my country - now as I approach fifty , my main concern is to die outside it's punitive tax regime .

It's hit the fan ! The Devil is in the detail !

I got a shock on Tuesday when my solicitor told me over the phone that , after discussion with the senior partners , he was no longer going to work on my mothers inheritance tax . My first response was " had I done anything wrong " Now I fear that there is some problem in the detail of her and our actions and recording of them which may make a huge difference to out tax liability . The kind of sum we are talking about is the kind of money you make in a lifetime of employment . The kind of money that made the honest bankers of the past jump out of their windows . The kind of money that the bankers of today expect for their yearly bonuses .

A lifetime ago my mother contacted a solicitor to get professional advice on reducing the future liability of her estate to inheritance tax . We as a family followed this advice and felt confident all would be well . This involved her making gifts of her assets and surviving seven years . Unfortunately her old cancer came back and she did not live as long as we all hoped . Her illness thankfully was short , painless and reasonably comfortable .

We realised that some not inconsiderable tax would be due and set about selling the family home , our only option . I moved in and began work on clearing and renovating the old Victorian property in London to obtain the best possible price . My brother , grief stricken at the loss of our mother , prepaired to move out of his home of 45 years . Evicted by our government .

The house was sold and we also managed to buy a large enough property on the Isle of Wight to house my brothers passion - his huge and growing collection of model railways and kits .

I have an old fashioned belief in British justice and fair play . As my mother had given away all her assets , we had no pressing need to contact the authorities to be able to carry on with our lives and there was little chance of them knowing any tax was due . However I knew tax was owing so I contacted them .

We did an estimate of the tax due , rounded it up and sent the monies to the inheritance tax people .

I expected some debate about property values but foresaw no other issues .I believed that as I had been upfront with them they would treat me as an honest man and take my word for things - My my , I was so naive .

I have been so busy working , mending toilets etc , that I trusted the far better paid professionals to have advised us correctly . It now seems I may have been mistaken .A pretty small mistake with a butterfly effect result . Time will tell and I don't want to say too much as the legal profession is involved .
It may not be as bad as I fear and we still have our health . I will update when I have a legal opinion from my new solicitor .

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