SGC Solicitors

10/07/2025

20/06/2025

Carnival ready🥳!

17/06/2024

2nd Place!! Thank you 🥳

11/06/2024

We hope everyone enjoyed the Carnival on Saturday 🥳

02/10/2019

Asset Protection Trusts - Mis sold?

Richards Morning Rant

I am confronted many times with clients asking to transfer their houses to children to prevent the house being 'taken' to pay for care costs.

The Law Society publishes a useful guide for solicitors when advising and I am careful to ensure this is followed in every case I deal with.

However I am aware that many people have been 'sold' expensive trust schemes (mostly by non solicitors). But do they work and what are the implications are serious questions to ask.

There are also quite a number of people who have entered these arrangements not understanding that they may no longer own their houses which are held in some cases by Trust Corporations.

I have been involved in cases trying to extract clients from these problems.

If you have been sold one of these schemes then you might want to take some impartial legal advice.

Richard

For more info see;-

Tens of thousands of people have been mis-sold asset-protection trust schemes, with unscrupulous advisers suggesting they would protect a homeowner's property if they went into care.

02/10/2019

Richard Morning Rant !

The 7 Year Rule – DOES NOT APPLY TO MOST PEOPLE

Now almost everyday of my working life I meet someone who tells me that they have heard that if they make a gift to anyone then they must live for 7 years before the gift is clear of any claims.

This is a very common misunderstanding and it is misapplied to matters of tax, care and claims.

So what is the The 7 year rule?
If there’s Inheritance Tax to pay, it’s charged at 40% on gifts given in the 3 years before you die. Gifts made 3 to 7 years before your death are taxed on a sliding scale known as ‘taper relief’.” See https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/gifts
BUT Here is the issue – According the Revenue in 2016-17 Only 4.6% of estates paid inheritance tax!

This means that you can estimate about 95% of estates do not pay inheritance tax and therefore these are not affected by the 7 year rule.

Another common mistake I hear is applying the 7 year rule to long term care – the idea that the Local Authority cannot go back more than 7 years. This is not true. S70 of the Care Act 2014 has no such time limit.

So what is the lesson? – if you want to make a gift then do so – after all its your property to do with as you wish.

Are there any implications of making gifts? Yes - but they may not be what you think – so you may want to take legal advice.

Inheritance Tax (IHT) is paid when a person's estate is worth more than £325,000 when they die - exemptions, passing on property. Sometimes known as death duties.

09/04/2019

No Fault Divorce - Government are proposing to introduce new legislation

Justice secretary David Gauke says he has listened to the overwhelming calls for reform.

24/11/2017

You can now get an online conveyancing quotation in seconds via our website goo.gl/eno8rk

25/07/2017

Parking: A private car park for SGC can be found at the rear of the United Reformed Church and is accessed via Trent Street.