Some people still sometimes refer to Inheritance Tax (IHT) as Death Duty. The tax has gone by a number of names over the years (not all of them complimentary…) and was, perhaps, most memorably characterised by Labour Chancellor Roy Jenkins as “…a voluntary levy paid by those who distrust their heirs more than they dislike the Inland Revenue.”

William Feeny, Chartered Accountant, discusses the various practices that have evolved for pricing estate administration services. Most advisers working in the financial services market will understand the concepts of “credence goods” and “asymmetry of information”. But there are many consumers who purchase these services everyday and do not recognise the words or the dangers.