FACT FIVE:

The people you leave behind won’t always have very long to pay the tax bill. Most are due six months from the end of the month in which the death occurred. And if bills aren’t settled they can clock up a lot of interest. If you write a will – which experts say everyone should – then you can nominate an executor or executors who will be in charge of sorting out all the paperwork.



If you don’t have a bill or don’t nominate anyone then the courts may appoint a professional executor to do the job. If you are worried that your heirs won’t have enough liquid assets to pay a tax bill you can take out a life insurance policy which will pay enough to cover your likely tax bill. If the policy is written in trust – a common thing to do and something all insurers will understand – then the value of its payout won’t be included in your estate and make a bad situation worse.