With the release of ‘No Time To Die’, James Bond star Daniel Craig says he’d prefer to spend or give his money away than leave it to his kids.

Actor Daniel Craig announced in an interview that he intends to give away most of his wealth when he dies, rather than leave it to his kids.

The James Bond actor went as far as to call inheritance ‘distasteful’. In his interview with The Telegraph, he did however demure slightly saying he does not intend to leave “great sums.”

Craig explained he intended to give away his money to charitable causes, and to otherwise spend his wealth before he dies rather than bequeath it to his children.

The James Bond actor’s approach could be seen as a noble one – his wealth will go to good causes and his kids won’t have the poison chalice of unearned wealth thrust upon them.

But there needn’t be such a gulf between approaches. There are several, arguably more responsible, ways to see that loved ones are looked after outside of the ‘traditional’ inheritance.

Gifts

Regular gifting is a great tax efficient way to use some of your wealth to help out loved ones. The rules are pretty straightforward, and the allowances not so high that you’ll need to worry about spending splurges.

The annual limit for gifting is £3,000, known as your ‘annual exemption.’ You can gift up to £3,000 to one person, or split this amount between as many people as you want.

It is also possible to carry forward the allowance for one year if you don’t use it in the previous tax year – meaning you could give £6,000 away.

You can also give up to £250 to anyone with no limit on how many £250 gifts you give – as long as you don’t use any other allowance to give to that person.

Finally, if your child is getting married you can gift them up to £5,000, separate from the above allowances. For a grandchild the marriage gift can be up to £2,500. Anyone else and you can write off a gift of up to £1,000 for a wedding.

JISAs

If you would like to share wealth with a child over time but they’re still too young to take responsibility for the cash, a Junior Isa (JISA) could be a fantastic option to help grow a nest egg for them.

The allowance for JISAs is now very generous – £9,000 per year per child. If you contribute regularly to a JISA it is classed as ‘excess income’. As long as it is not materially affecting your lifestyle, it is therefore inheritance tax exempt.

Pensions

The ultimate in responsible inheritance – setting up a pension for your child can be both tax efficient, and will ensure they can’t access in until pension freedom age (currently 55 but set to rise to 57 in 2028).

The Junior Sipp allowance is more restricted at £3,600 a year, but like the JISA is exempt from Inheritance Tax (IHT) as long as you can prove it doesn’t affect your day-to-day finances.

The ultimate benefit of a pension for your child is that they can’t access it until retirement. Plus with so many potential years of gains and compounding to be had, the sum you leave in their account could become extremely valuable over time (performance permitting).

If you would like to discuss any of the above options for inheritance planning, don’t hesitate to get in touch with your adviser.