Deaths of The Rich And Famous Are A Stark Reminder To Us All
The unexpected and alarmingly high number of celebrity deaths in 2016 got everyone thinking about their own mortality that little bit more.
Even more worrying was the news that some of them with multi-million fortunes had no Will in place and their affairs have been left in disarray.
Hopefully the publicity surrounding this and the news that the tax man and the state benefited from some celeb deaths has made those of us who are not rich and famous that little bit more aware of what we need to do.
Pop star George Michael made careful plans to leave most of his £105million fortune to his sister and nominated family and friends, while Carrie Fisher’s $25 million (£20.4million) estate will go to the star’s daughter through a trust.
But Prince made no plans for his $300 million fortune and much could be lost in tax.
HM Revenue & Customs took a record £4.7billion worth of IHT in the 2015/16 tax year, almost double its take just seven years ago.
"It does not take a lot of time to make a simple Will and if you affairs are more complicated we can advise accordingly, “said Daniel Prince, Private Client Partner.
“It’s a stark reminder that death can happen to anyone at any time and heightens the need to consider what would happen to your affairs. No one likes to think of their own mortality but by planning ahead, making sure you have a Will in place and giving some thought to tax planning it’s not that difficult to get your affairs in order,” he added.
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