The RSPCA has won an appeal in a dispute over a testator’s intentions where he left assets ‘up to the inheritance tax threshold’.

George Mason, who died in June 2007, had written a will leaving ‘the maximum’ that could be free of IHT to his friends Norman and Patricia Sharp and his brother, John Mason. He also left his house to the Sharps. The residue of the estate was left to the RSPCA, which as a charity is not liable to IHT.

The Sharps and Mason successfully argued in the High Court that the house should not be included in calculating the ‘maximum’ tax-free amount due to them. This would have led to a higher overall tax bill for the estate, and a reduction in the amount received by the charity.

However, overturning this in the Court of Appeal last month, Lord Justice Patten said the will ‘does not disclose a misunderstanding of inheritance tax’ and could not be construed in the way the Sharps and Mason contended, particularly as it had been drafted by a professional.

Paul Hewitt, partner at City firm Withers who acted for the RSPCA, said the ruling reinforced the courts’ understanding of the position where a portion of the estate is left ‘up to the IHT threshold’.