Sir Bruce Forsyth sadly passed away back in August 2017, but in recent days, probate records have emerged suggesting that the much-loved entertainer ‘disinherited’ all of his children in his Will.
The Strictly Come Dancing star, who managed to amass a sizeable fortune over the years, reportedly left £11.5 million of his estate to his wife, Wilnelia, but did not pass on a single penny to his six children.
Forsyth also left a sum of £100,000 in a trust to be shared equally among his nine grandchildren, along with another sum of £40,000 to the people that executed his Will.
According to a report in The Sun, the popular presenter’s surprise approach to his Will came in a bid to avoid Inheritance Tax (IHT), a levy which Forsyth had previously described as “a bit over the top.”
Shortly before he passed away last year, Forsyth told the Radio Times: “I think your inheritance should go to your children more than back to the country that you’ve lived in.
“I’m not saying you don’t owe the country something, of course, you owe your country a lot for living there all those years. But I think it [IHT] can be a bit over the top.”
Under existing laws, the late entertainer’s estate would have been liable to pay thousands of pounds worth of IHT if he had left the bulk of his fortune to his six children, Julie, Debbie, Laura, Charlotte, Jonathan and Louisa.
This is because he would have incurred IHT at a rate of 40 per cent on anything above the existing IHT threshold or ‘nil rate band’ of £325,000 left to anyone other than his spouse, or a charity.
The rules governing Wills and IHT are complex and confusing, which is why it is always important to seek specialist legal advice in these areas.