Domicile and the tax position at death

How is the correct tax liability of an estate calculated on death? For most estates in the UK this will be a fairly easy exercise. The main tax to be considered will be UK inheritance tax after application of the relevant exemptions reliefs and allowances. This assumes however that the deceased died domiciled in the UK and in a globalised world where people increasingly settle in a different country from that in which they were born it will not always be the case.

To a large extent a person’s domicile depends on their intentions and establishing that in the context of deceased estates can be particularly problematic. Taking account of the relevant law it is worth considering the practical issues that advisors need to be conscious of when working with executors to finalise the tax position on an estate with foreign elements. ...