http://www.ft.com/personal-finance/wealth-questionshttp://www.ft.com/rss/yourmoney/advice/asktheftFT.com - Ask the FTen© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2009. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. See http://www.ft.com/servicestools/help/terms#legal1 for the terms and conditions of reuse.client.support@ft.com (Client Support)Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:11:20 +0000Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:17:05 +0000Newspapers60http://news.ft.com/cms/d1f3ce1a-6bbe-11da-bb53-0000779e2340.gifhttp://www.ft.com/personal-finance/wealth-questions(PICS-1.1 "http://www.classify.org/safesurf/" L gen true for "http://www.ft.com/" r (SS~~000 1))http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/bbd635de-d607-11de-b80f-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fyourmoney%2Fadvice%2Faskthefthttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/bbd635de-d607-11de-b80f-00144feabdc0.htmlI want to make a substantial lifetime gift to my children in the hope that I live for seven years and so avoid IHT on the transfer. Is there a way of ensuring that my daughter's husband does not become entitled to a share? Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:11:20 +0000http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/861dd570-d088-11de-af9c-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fyourmoney%2Fadvice%2Faskthefthttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/861dd570-d088-11de-af9c-00144feabdc0.htmlUnder what circumstances would a local authority increase the personal expenses allowance (PEA) or similar financial "disregard" of a care home resident who is paying the bills on a property that continues to be occupied by their spouse?Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:15:16 +0000http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/1ec6fdf6-cb02-11de-97e0-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fyourmoney%2Fadvice%2Faskthefthttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/1ec6fdf6-cb02-11de-97e0-00144feabdc0.htmlMy husband and I are rewriting our wills to leave our half-shares of the family home to our three adult children – rather than to each other. Is making them the executors of our wills sufficient control?Fri, 6 Nov 2009 18:32:52 +0000http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/486ae0ce-c589-11de-9b3b-00144feab49a.html?o=%2Frss%2Fyourmoney%2Fadvice%2Faskthefthttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/486ae0ce-c589-11de-9b3b-00144feab49a.htmlOur parents have "mirror" wills – leaving everything to each other. However, our mother has gone into a care home and my sister and I are concerned that, were our father to die, his assets would be taken by the local authority to pay for our mother's care. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:38:07 +0000http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/5e5f4870-bffd-11de-aed2-00144feab49a.html?o=%2Frss%2Fyourmoney%2Fadvice%2Faskthefthttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5e5f4870-bffd-11de-aed2-00144feab49a.htmlI am going through a divorce and my husband is asking me for a substantial settlement. What can I do to lessen the financial pain?Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:01:44 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/bb094602-ba76-11de-9dd7-00144feab49a.html?o=%2Frss%2Fyourmoney%2Fadvice%2Faskthefthttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/bb094602-ba76-11de-9dd7-00144feab49a.htmlMy husband has gone into a care home. We have yet to go through the local authority's financial assessment but I understand that so long as I continue to live in the property, my husband's half will be exempt from his care costs. But what if I were to move, to be nearer my husband? Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:11:46 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/a013a5a0-b502-11de-8b17-00144feab49a.html?o=%2Frss%2Fyourmoney%2Fadvice%2Faskthefthttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/a013a5a0-b502-11de-8b17-00144feab49a.htmlI am a 30-year-old woman getting married next summer. My income is much higher than that of my partner. A friend has recommended I get a pre-nuptial agreement, in case we ever divorce. Aren't "pre-nups" meaningless in the UKFri, 9 Oct 2009 19:39:06 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/7e11d25e-af7d-11de-ba1c-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fyourmoney%2Fadvice%2Faskthefthttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/7e11d25e-af7d-11de-ba1c-00144feabdc0.htmlI am a higher-rate taxpayer in my mid-40s with £400,000 of pension funds and a partner who works, but no children. Were I to die, my partner would get the £400,000 with no tax charge. So why should I pay for life cover?Fri, 2 Oct 2009 19:06:03 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/439d939a-a9fd-11de-a3ce-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fyourmoney%2Fadvice%2Faskthefthttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/439d939a-a9fd-11de-a3ce-00144feabdc0.htmlAbbey insists that an elderly lady, whose financial affairs I look after, must sign an application form for a bond - even though it already holds a copy of her power of attorney Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:10:07 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/4bbf966e-a47f-11de-92d4-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fyourmoney%2Fadvice%2Faskthefthttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/4bbf966e-a47f-11de-92d4-00144feabdc0.htmlWe are buying a family home and I am concerned about the CGT implications of jointly purchasing the property, as my wife already part owns a flat Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:23:59 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/b7981a02-9eec-11de-8013-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fyourmoney%2Fadvice%2Faskthefthttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/b7981a02-9eec-11de-8013-00144feabdc0.htmlTo make gifts that are free of inheritance tax out of surplus income, do the spare funds have to be retained in a current account – even where the gift is a lump sum rather than a regular payment? Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:07:18 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/6a654bfa-996b-11de-ab8c-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fyourmoney%2Fadvice%2Faskthefthttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/6a654bfa-996b-11de-ab8c-00144feabdc0.htmlMy husband has Alzheimer's, but often seems quite "normal" and the condition is not advanced. We are updating our wills to leave more of our assets to our children rather than each other. Would my husband be considered of sufficiently "sound mind" to change his will? Are there any rules for those who have mental difficulties writing their wills? Fri, 4 Sep 2009 16:57:56 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/90b490fe-8e76-11de-87d0-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fyourmoney%2Fadvice%2Faskthefthttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/90b490fe-8e76-11de-87d0-00144feabdc0.htmlMy husband is in a care home and is unlikely to return to live in the family home. Are there any pitfalls in gifting his half-share to our children? Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:22:09 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/b73c7b18-88f6-11de-b50f-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fyourmoney%2Fadvice%2Faskthefthttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/b73c7b18-88f6-11de-b50f-00144feabdc0.htmlI have promised to pay boarding school fees for my granddaughter for two years, amounting to £10,000 to £15,000 a yearFri, 14 Aug 2009 18:22:36 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/79dee1c6-8378-11de-a24e-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fyourmoney%2Fadvice%2Faskthefthttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/79dee1c6-8378-11de-a24e-00144feabdc0.htmlWe have to undergo a local authority financial assessment for my husband's care. Can his pension be retained to pay for household bills? Fri, 7 Aug 2009 18:40:08 +0100