Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Estate definition

What does Estate mean? In practice, “estate” describes either: (1) the nature and duration of a person’s proprietary interest in land; or (2) the aggregate property of a person, commonly on death or bankruptcy. England & Wales and Northern Ireland: An estate in land denotes the time-based interest, not the land itself. Statute and case law limit legal estates primarily to freehold (fee simple absolute in possession) and leasehold (term of years absolute), with other interests (for example, life interests and beneficial interests under a trust) arising in equity. This concept underpins conveyancing, security, priorities and land registration. Ireland: Under the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform...

Lifetime IHT Planning—Outright Gifts vs Trusts, Will Co-ordination, Timing, and CGT/Income Tax Implications

Published by a LexisNexis Private Client expert

Practice notes

From an IHT standpoint, the overarching purpose of lifetime planning is to arrange an individual’s assets during life so the eventual IHT burden on death is minimised. This can be done in several ways, including putting money into a range of tax-efficient holdings and identifying, securing and augmenting IHT exemptions available and valuable reliefs. A central element of lifetime IHT planning is both gifting during life to significantly shrink the overall estate that will be owned on death, and this Practice Note focuses on that theme. Lifetime IHT planning may equally entail creating or reviewing a person’s Will. Where a strategy blends lifetime transfers with Will structuring, the two strands should not be viewed separately. It is vital to consider the provisions of any Will when lifetime gifts are contemplated, and the converse applies. Even if a client chooses not to undertake any lifetime gifting, they should at the very least think about making a Will. Likewise, getting the order of priorities right is key. Before starting any lifetime gifting, it is essential to carefully consider the client’s own personal requirements and present and future financial security. Tax efficiencies should never be achieved at the cost of the well-being of...

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Emma Haley

Boodle Hatfield LLP

Emma Haley, TEP, is a senior associate at Boodle Hatfield with many years experience in dealing with all aspects of wills, capital taxation and succession planning as well as UK and offshore trusts. Emma currently heads up the technical know-how team for the Private Client & Tax department and is responsible for in-house training, knowledge management and precedents. Boodle Hatfield is a leading private client law firm, renowned for providing first-class and practical legal advice to wealthy clients around the world. Boodle Hatfield advises on all issues affecting private clients from succession and estate planning to resolving trust and estate disputes, or advising on family breakdown....

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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