Bluebond

15/07/2026

🇬🇧 Most people set up a trust to reduce their inheritance tax, but there is a charge most don't plan for at the 10-year anniversary.

Every ten years, the trustees of a discretionary trust must pay a periodic charge on the value of the trust above its allowance. If the trust allowance is the full £325,000 and the value grows to £625,000, 6% is payable on the excess £300,000. The allowance itself can vary depending on whether trusts were set up within 7 years before the current one.

The Rysaffe Principle, which involves setting up a multitude of trusts, allows you to plan for this in advance. Although more expensive to set up, bearing in mind a trust may last a hundred years, it saves significant amounts of tax over the long term.

10/07/2026

🇬🇧 Hybrid Annuities: How They Combine Retirement Income With Inheritance Tax Relief
A hybrid annuity is a blended retirement income strategy that pairs a guaranteed annuity with retained pension drawdown. From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and pension death benefits will sit inside the inheritance tax estate under Finance Act 2026.

Annuity income spent during your lifetime leaves your estate. The survivor's share of a joint life annuity also stays outside inheritance tax. Whether the approach fits depends on your age, assets, and family circumstances.

Read the full article here 👇
https://www.bluebond.co.uk/our-resources/articles/hybrid-annuities-inheritance-tax/

09/07/2026

🇬🇧 Can a UK trust really last 125 years? Yes and it's one of the most powerful tools in multi-generational inheritance tax planning.
A properly drafted trust can protect family wealth for over a century, lending money to beneficiaries rather than gifting it outright, shielding assets from divorce or the unexpected death of a child.

There's also a lesser-known strategy: moving assets from one trust to another without restarting the seven-year rule, extending protection well beyond 125 years.
The key is proper drafting. The correct powers need to be written in from the start, and the structure has to fit your specific family situation and long-term goals.

01/07/2026

🇬🇧 The Seven-Year Rule: Half the Story Could Cost You Everything

Everyone's heard of the seven-year inheritance tax rule. Almost nobody knows the full picture, and what they don't know is exactly what ends up costing their family the most.

Charles de Lastic, Managing Director of Bluebond Group, breaks down what the seven-year rule actually means for potentially exempt transfers: why taper relief doesn't work the way most people think, and the £325,000 trap that catches families out every time.

29/06/2026

🇬🇧 Putting Pension Death Benefits Into Trust: Does It Still Reduce Inheritance Tax After 2027?

Putting pension death benefits into trust can still reduce inheritance tax after 6 April 2027, but only in specific cases. The 2027 reform brings most unused pension funds and lump sum death benefits into your IHT estate, so a spousal bypass trust no longer routes pension money around the estate at the first death.
Where these trusts still earn their place is second-generation planning, non-spouse beneficiaries, and families who want a structured legacy rather than a one-off lump sum.
The strategy has not died. The reasons for using it have shifted.
Read the full article here 👇

https://www.bluebond.co.uk/our-resources/articles/pension-death-benefits-trust-iht-after-2027/

26/06/2026

🇬🇧 Loan trust or discretionary trust: which one should you use for inheritance tax planning?

The answer depends entirely on your circumstances. Charles de Lastic, Managing Director of Bluebond Group, breaks down the key differences between the two structures — what each one does, who each one suits, and why the decision comes down to whether you ever need access to the money again.

👉 Join our free webinars: every Saturday morning with Charles.
https://www.bluebond.co.uk/free-resources/webinar/

18/06/2026

Estate planning during divorce:most people don't realise the window between separation and final order can run 12 to 24 months. The decisions made in that period shape your estate for the next 20 years.

Here's what you need to know:
▪Section 18A of the Wills Act 1837 only triggers on the final divorce order — your spouse still inherits under your existing will until that date
▪You can write a new will at any time during proceedings without your spouse's consent or court approval
▪The inheritance tax spouse exemption under Section 18 IHTA 1984 applies until the marriage legally ends
▪Pension and life insurance beneficiary nominations are not revoked by divorce and must be updated separately
▪Joint tenancies pass by survivorship until severed by written notice, regardless of divorce status

Read the full article here 👇

https://www.bluebond.co.uk/our-resources/articles/estate-planning-during-divorce-before-settlement/

17/06/2026

🇬🇧 Most people receive financial advice from several professionals working independently: an accountant, a tax adviser, a solicitor, a wealth manager. The problem? They're rarely coordinating with each other.
One adviser may solve a problem today and inadvertently create one elsewhere tomorrow.

A family wealth office acts as a financial director for your family — integrating every area into one joined-up strategy:
🔹 Tax and financial planning
🔹 Inheritance tax and estate planning
🔹 Trusts and business succession
🔹 Investment management
🔹 Asset protection

Every decision aligned to one objective. The complete picture, not individual products in isolation.

📩 Find out how Bluebond's family wealth office works for you: https://www.bluebond.co.uk

17/06/2026

12/06/2026

🇬🇧 Why Your Will Does NOT Save Any Inheritance Tax (And What Actually Works)
Most solicitors writing your will are lawyers — not tax advisers. That single distinction could cost your family hundreds of thousands of pounds in Inheritance Tax.

📌 In this video Charles explains:
— Why a legally valid will is NOT the same as a tax-efficient one
— How a standard will increases the surviving spouse's estate and the IHT bill
— Why effective IHT planning must start during your lifetime — not in your will
— How setting up wills and trusts together changes everything
— Why assets going into trust on first death stops compounding in the estate
— Why the difference between a standard will and a structured plan can be hundreds of thousands of pounds

🎬 Watch now, link in comments.