Readers' forum: Family matters

My clients are four members of the same family and are all the joint owners of four houses with equal shares. One of the houses has been their main residence since its purchase and it is now worth £1.6m. The other three properties are used for future investment purposes and have been rented since they were bought and are now worth about £1.2m. The clients would now like to buy a further property through a company to save on capital gains tax and inheritance tax. I am not clear whether this would be the best way to mitigate tax liabilities.

Also a few years ago my clients promised to gift their two nephews a share of the properties they own specifically the main residence. This was done without any legal documents but can be confirmed by the other relatives and friends.

I look forward to comments and...