The deceased may also have held a joint bank or building society account with another person.
Even though the surviving owner will automatically inherit the whole of the money, the value of the deceased’s share is included in their estate. If all the money in the joint account was provided by the deceased then the total value of the account should be included.
For example, some elderly people hold their bank accounts jointly with their children to ensure that the children can access the account on their behalf. As the children did not provide any of the money in the account on their parent’s death the full balance should be included in their parent’s estate as it was their money initially.
What lifetime gifts are chargeable to IHT on death?
Also, when valuing the estate all gifts the deceased made in the seven years before death need to be considered.
Written by Kim Jarvis, Canada Life
Kim Jarvis is Technical Manager with Canada Life’s ican Technical Services Team.
Canada Life offers a range of wealth management solutions, including retirement income planning, estate planning and investment solutions from a choice of jurisdictions, including the UK, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland.
