Readers’ forum: Giving away estate assets before they are received

My client is 92 and lost his wife earlier in the year. My client’s estate is worth around £2m at current values and there is in the region of £3m in the wife’s estate.

My client says he does not need the money from his wife’s estate and would like to give it to his daughters. Obviously surviving the gift by seven years could be a bit of a stretch but there would be a reduction in inheritance tax if he could survive the gift by three or more years.

While he is keen to do this we are waiting for the solicitors to obtain probate for the wife’s estate which is delaying the gift of the assets to the daughters.

I am wondering if there is a way of giving away the assets before they are actually received such as an IOU...