Friends of mine, gave their daughter a gift of £150,000 five years ago to buy a property that was registered in their daughter's name. The wife has recently been diagnosed with a potentially life limiting illness and is concerned that she may not survive the full seven years for the gift to be an exempt transfer and the couples combined estate is currently valued in excess of the £650,000 inheritance tax limit.
The wife has two concerns that I am hoping someone may be able to answer:-
1. The payment to her daughter was actually made directly from a savings account solely in the wife's name, can the gift still be considered a joint gift?
2. If it is considered a joint gift and she was to die before the seven years but her husband survived, would 50% of the gift become an exempt transfer?
Many thanks
The wife has two concerns that I am hoping someone may be able to answer:-
1. The payment to her daughter was actually made directly from a savings account solely in the wife's name, can the gift still be considered a joint gift?
2. If it is considered a joint gift and she was to die before the seven years but her husband survived, would 50% of the gift become an exempt transfer?
Many thanks