Thursday 6 September 2012

Must inheritance be paid to UK bank account?

Question
Good morning from a seriously hot Malta.

I am conducting research on behalf of my long time girlfriend Charlie who moved to Malta with her now ex husband 25 years ago followed by her now deceased parents.

The parental legacy has now finally got to the point of fruition with some £450,000 being released from the estate via KPMG in the Isle of Man.

Charlie has decided to invest a chunk of money in the UK with a Spot Factoring Co with a 40 year track record lending short to business with cash flow issues. They offer investors 14% on larger sums, Charlie has spoken to other investors, spoken to the Chairman in the UK etc etc, so all seems ok and this is not really why I am asking you for advice as Charlie is comfortable with the deal.

But

IOM KPMG insist that Charlie has to provide a bank account.The problem is that she only has a Malta based bank account.It seems crazy bringing Sterling into Europe and then transferring back into Sterling with all the fees associated.

I do have a UK bank account registered to my UK property, but am reluctant to transfer that kind of money into my docile UK account. Even if I could I would have to get around the name on the account, it must specifically be sent to a UK account with Charlies name on it. What do you suggest ? maybe the answer is simple but we are anxious not to make any silly mistakes.Answer
I'm afraid I can't be of much help, as I'm as confused as you are re: why KPMG in the Isle of Man is insisting the money is paid into a UK bank account. Provided inheritance tax has been properly accounted for and paid in wherever it's due I can't see why there would be a restriction on where the money can be paid.

I would push this point and ask KPMG exactly why they're insisting the money is paid into a UK bank account and what rules or legislation dictate this. In any case, as your girlfriend is a resident of Malta and not the UK she'll probably find it very difficult to open a UK bank account, something you might want to point out to KPMG. Her best bet might be to open a sterling denominated offshore account and insist the money is paid there - this would at least avoid needless currency conversion.

If you can add any further info below when you get it I'll be happy to provide a follow up answer.

Just a brief warning re: spot factoring investments, they're not regulated by the FSA so no investor protection should things go wrong. 14% is quite a hefty annual return in the current climate so it's obviously not without some risk.

Read this Q and A at http://www.candidmoney.com/questions/question730.aspx

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