Application by attorney to make a gift to himself
19 September 2018
The son and the attorney for his mother, applied to make a substantial gift to himself (along with a number of smaller gifts to various charities) on the basis of inheritance tax planning.
The Court of Protection took a holistic approach to the application and viewed mother's 'best interests' in a wider sense, suggesting that best interests will not be restricted to mother's self-interests.
The court did not agree with the argument that simply being wealthy meant that inheritance tax planning was normal, however as mother did not obtain her wealth until later in life, her previous lack of inheritance tax planning was not relevant and therefore the application to make the gifts was allowed.
