Inheritance Tax Planning and Mortgages Over 55s
At Rockhopper Later Life Finance we help customers aged 55 and over for whom borrowing forms part of a wider estate plan. Some people release equity or restructure a mortgage as one element of planning their estate. We provide the mortgage advice and work alongside your tax adviser and solicitor, who handle the tax and legal side. We do not give tax advice.
We work with customers who are:
- Have been advised by an accountant or solicitor to consider a mortgage as part of estate planning
- Are thinking about releasing equity to make gifts during their lifetime
- Want to understand how borrowing interacts with their estate
- Are restructuring their finances with inheritance in mind
- Want mortgage advice that works alongside their tax adviser
- Would like to understand the options before taking tax advice
Estate planning brings together tax, legal, and financial questions, and it works best when the right specialist handles each part. Our role is the mortgage, arranged to fit the plan your tax adviser and solicitor put together, and we are glad to work alongside them.
Borrowing can interact with estate planning in several ways. Releasing equity reduces the value held in the property, and funds gifted during your lifetime may, depending on the rules and the time that passes, fall outside your estate. These are tax matters, and the rules are detailed and subject to change.
There are traps to be aware of, such as a gift with reservation of benefit, where giving away an asset while still benefiting from it does not achieve the intended effect. Whether any arrangement works for inheritance tax purposes is a question for a qualified tax adviser, not for us.
Our role is to arrange the mortgage element soundly and to make sure it fits the plan. A lifetime mortgage reduces the value of your estate and may affect entitlement to means-tested benefits, and we explain the mortgage plainly so it can be considered alongside the tax advice.
We provide mortgage advice only. We strongly recommend you take independent tax and legal advice on the estate planning itself, and we are happy to work alongside your advisers.
The Process
Your first conversation is an informal discussion about what you would like to achieve and your circumstances. There is no cost or obligation.
We complete a full fact-find and research the market for your situation. We then provide a written recommendation explaining the route we believe fits and why.
Every case is different, and our advice always reflects your particular circumstances.
Speak to a Later Life Adviser
Call 0203 621 5696
Lines open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively, complete the enquiry form and we will call you back at a time that suits you.