Investments for a client with an overseas spouse

HR246 · July 31

Hi everyone,

I'm working on a case at the moment for a client who lives in the UK, but has a spouse who lives overseas (and intends to continue living there). She may join him in the future. The scope of the case is investing some cash, along with some IHT planning. It's not the sort of thing I see too often so I'm hoping for a bit of a sense check! I know UK domicile rules have changed fairly recently but I'm not sure how they will impact this bit of planning.

I have a few thoughts swimming around my head at the moment. How will this impact IHT i.e. does the non-UK spouse have a Nil Rate Band? Should an Offshore Bond be held jointly, and would Offshore Bond providers who target the UK market allow a non-UK resident (who might not be UK domiciled, either) to be named as an account owner? Is there anything else I need to think about? I feel like I'm veering into 'you don't know what you don't know' territory and wondering if this is the sort of thing where a prompt to speak to an accountant who specialises in this specific situation would be prudent.

Thanks all!