Do husbands, wives and civil partners have special inheritance rights?
Anything passed to husbands, wives and civil partners is free of inheritance tax so long as they live in the UK. Remember, however, that this will increase the size of their estate and its potential inheritance tax liability, so it may be worth leaving a large part of your estate (up to the value of the nil rate band, which is £312,000 for 2008/09) to your children or grandchildren. What happens to the payments from a company pension scheme? You should make sure that the list of nominated beneficiaries in your company pension is up to date. There will be no inheritance tax payable if the benefits pass to an exempt recipient, for example, your widow or widower. In many pension arrangements the individual has no real control over who receives the death benefits as it is down to the discretion of the scheme trustee or administrator. In such cases, the death benefits should not be liable to inheritance tax. Does it make a difference if I retire abroad? It may. Your assets may be subject to
