Gifts of land with hope value are often considered when looking to reduce a potential liability to inheritance tax on death. If the donor gives the land away when planning permission could be many years in the future he or she will have made a gift of relatively low value, leaving his or her chosen beneficiaries to benefit from the development upside in years to come. Such a gift will either be a potentially exempt transfer if the gift is outright to one or more individuals or a chargeable lifetime transfer if made to trustees. Either way the donor of the gift has to survive seven years for the value to be completely outside their estate for inheritance tax purposes.

Anybody who lives in the UK and owns property or other assets in France will know that there are many differences between the French and English legal systems, particularly when it comes to succession law and taxation.

Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has advised the Blackett family, shareholders of the iconic Matfen Hall Hotel, on the sale of the company to hospitality business Walwick Estate Group.

The UK residential property market is currently experiencing high levels of activity as buyers look to take advantage of the temporary Stamp Duty Land Tax reduction. James Radcliffe (who specialises in tax planning for Americans living in the UK) set outs his top tips to be aware of for US citizens considering the UK housing market.

In July, the UK Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Villiers v Villiers (2020 UKSC 30) which considered whether the Courts of England and Wales have the power to interfere in Scottish divorce proceedings.