Readers' forum : Interesting?

In 2002 my client’s parents took out an equity release loan of £160 000 with a 20-year term. In retrospect the terms were onerous such that a huge amount would have been owing in 2022.

My client raised £342 000 on her own flat in 2013 and paid off the insurance company. That represented about 46% of the value of the parents’ house at the time; it is now worth about £1m.

The problem is that the family was not very clear in 2013 about the precise nature of the arrangement. The transaction was described as my client ‘buying the insurance company’s interest’ so in theory she could be entitled to the insurance company’s return in 2022.

I am not clear how to determine what the client ought to be paid or how it would be taxed. It might be a loan a share of...