Afsha Chugtai appealed to the First Tier Tribunal against HMRC imposing inheritance tax onto her deceased father’s estate after he had placed his property and cash in trusts in 2000. Chugtai’s father passed away in 2017, but Chugtai herself was named as the executrix of the Will in 2005.

Chugtai claimed that her father had made these decision seven years before he died so the value of the trust should not have been included in his estate for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes.

The total value of the estate was £843,950, split between £401,711 of free estate, a £380,000 property, and £62,239 in a Santander trust account.

HMRC solicitor, Cleo Lunt, argued: ‘The deceased had reserved a benefit in the subject matter of both trusts during the seven years prior to his death, and consequently the value of the assets in the trusts, valued at the date of his death, do fall to be taken into account when calculating IHT on his death estate.’

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