Gifting Property FAQ

Yes. It is quite common for an Occupancy Agreement to be drawn up so that your children would agree to you continuing to live in the house as long as you wished.

 

Yes and it will give you more security if you did as you would continue to be a legal owner of your home.

 

If you carry on living in your home after you have put it in someone else's name and you don't effectively pay that person for your use of the home then it is unlikely to work for Inheritance Tax purposes. In the event of your death, you may be treated as still owning the home and therefore it will be subject to Inheritance Tax on your estate. There are ways in which you can gift your home to reduce your estate for Inheritance Tax purposes although this may well involve paying for the continued use. We can advise you on the appropriate options if you are thinking of gifting your home to plan to reduce Inheritance Tax.

 

If you own your home outright and it is your only home then there will be no Capital Gains Tax to pay as a result of your gift. If it is a second home though Capital Gains Tax may be payable.

 

There are risks. The person(s) receiving it could get divorced, be declared bankrupt or die. If so, your home would actually be their assets. You wouldn't be able to control what happened to their property even though you may be living in it. There could be risks for the person receiving the property. Putting your house in someone else's name could limit their own entitlement to means-tested benefits. It could mean that they have to pay Capital Gains Tax in the future if they ever sold the house and were not actually living in it because they had a home of their own. Always seek legal advice before deciding whether gifting your home is right for you. While such a big decision will always be yours to make, we can give you the all advice you need to help you.