Thank you, Mr.P !

Thanks for those thoughts - I appreciate it !!

Thanks again, HB ! Regards, Derek

Thanks for the thought, "Honeybee"; I appreciate it. My wife and I have a fair amount of cash in joint accounts. The thought occurred to me that, if our two sons were added as owners of the joint account, maybe that would mitigate the amount of Inheritance Tax due on the estate. I guess that a proportionate share of the joint account might be considered as a 'gift', and subject to the normal IHT rules (7 years tapered relief?). We are just about starting on will-writing (following the Which? advertising campaign!), so we are considering what kind of clauses to include. We would rather dispose of some of the cash before we go, but not all of it! We may need some, for example, for care costs, and our sons would need access to the funds, so it's a practical as well as a legal consideration. Thanks for considering my post !

General question - if you hold a joint account, and one of the account holders dies, how much of the joint account would be considered part of the deceased's estate, for Inheritance Tax purposes? Example 1 Husband and wife have a joint account of £100,000; husband dies. Is £50,000 considered part of his estate, and the other £50,00 considered as just a part of the wife's assets? Example 2 Husband, wife and two adult offspring have a joint account of £100,000; husband dies. Is £25,000 considered part of his estate, and £25,000 considered part of each of the 3 dependants' assets?