I am now 80 years old. I have three commercial or residential properties in my and my wife's name. We have been operating these for more than 23 years as our only source of income. We now wish to find a neat way of passing them to the next generation. We are aware of the seven-year rule and that if operated, it would give rise to inheritance tax (IHT). What (if any) are the alternatives? We have read about a partnership and transferring the business into it as a going concern; but there seems to be some controversy about this route. 

Arthur replies: 

Transferring the business to a limited company will not help to shelter the current value of the portfolio from inheritance tax. A neat and approved way of passing to the next generation can be found in 'HMRC General anti-abuse rule (GAAR) guidance Part D - Examples' - but it only works in a very small number of scenarios. If you 'fit into the box', then it is worth following. See their Example D19 on page 53, about gifts between spouses.