Update – Loring v Woodland Trust – Court of Appeal Decision

The Court of Appeal has unanimously upheld an earlier decision by the High Court in the case of Loring v Woodland Trust such that the amount of a nil rate band legacy was held to include the transferable nil rate band available to the deceased, Valerie Smith.

In this  case, the effect of the decision is that the majority of the estate will pass to the Loring family and not the charity.

An analysis of the previous High Court Case can be found here.

It is important that taxpayers regularly review their wills and consider the impact of legacies as circumstances can change over time.

HMRC’s guidance at IHTM43065, which provides  examples as to when in their view the transferable nil rate band is included in a nil rate band legacy, was updated in August 2014 to take into account the decision in the Loring v Woodland Trust case.

See our December 2014 Tax Update for more recent cases.