By Legal Futures Associate Provira
In his eponymous Opening Shot, Simon Kuper insightfully asks “What is the combination of downward mobility and widespread inheritance doing to families, ambitions and societies?” We are, he argues, reverting to a societal norm where the bulk of wealth is inherited, not earned.
This sentiment is underpinned by a sustained period of asset price growth that has outstripped wages, whilst quantitative easing and the like have served to further inflate asset prices for the “haves”, creating an increasingly large wealth gap between themselves and the (typically younger) “have nots”.
This is further evidenced through widely cited research. For example, the average UK house price has increased by over 50% since the global financial crisis, whilst mortgage lending criteria have significantly tightened over the same period. The UK “housing crisis” and “generation rent” have become all too familiar headlines in the local press.
Furthermore, the UK’s Institute for Fiscal Studies recently stated that “On average, inheritance will be 9% of household lifetime income for those born in the 1960’s, rising to 16% for those born in the 1980’s.” It is further estimated that US millennials will inherit more than $68 trillion from their boomer parents by 2030.
Yet whilst more and more people find themselves dependent on a future inheritance, it often comes as a surprise to learn that once a loved one passes away, the time it takes for their estate to be distributed can often be a year or longer. Where there is inheritance tax (IHT) to pay, or properties to sell, this can add significant further delay.
It is against this backdrop that Provira launched its Probate Advance and Estate Advance products – providing beneficiaries and executors of estates instant access to a large portion of their future inheritance. There are no monthly payments until the estate is fully wound up and if there is a shortfall for whatever reason, that loss is borne by Provira rather than the borrower. Furthermore, due to the fact that an Advance is based on the estimated value of the estate, an applicant’s credit score or employment status will not impact their eligibility.
Advances are typically used to pay deposits on new homes, renovate properties in the estate in order to increase their sales value, pay IHT in order to “unlock” the estate, pay off expensive/personally guaranteed debts or to simply cover day-to-day cashflows whilst the estate is wound up.
UK beneficiaries and executors need no longer wait for the financial freedom a future inheritance may offer them and their loved ones. For more information visit www.provira.com or contact us on info@provira.com or 0203 813 6400.
