Good probate planning 'to avoid very stressful inheritance tax'

Good probate planning could help Britons avoid unexpected difficulties due to inheritance tax, which one publication advises can be "very stressful" if individuals are not well prepared.

Health Insurance and Protection reveals some people may have to sell their family home in order to fund the cost of the charge levied when a person dies, as those with an estate worth more than £325,000 must pay 40 per cent of it to the government when they pass away.

Advisers who have not aided their clients' probate planning by informing them about inheritance tax have left themselves open to litigation as individuals should be made fully aware of the processes involved in estate administration by the professional to provide guidance.

Writing in Money Week, Ruth Jackson recently observed not drawing up a testament can create "chaos" when a person dies, with the added costs of death duties adding to the strain felt by family and loved ones left behind.