A contract for the sale of an estate in fee simple.

A tax on death and on lifetime transfers that was introduced in 1894 to replace probate duty. Estate duty was replaced by capital transfer tax in 1974–75 and, subsequently, by inheritance tax . It is still relevant for deaths before 13 March 1975 in determining whether the transferable nil-rate band applies.

The Leasehold Reform Act 1967 (LRA 1967) and the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (LRHUDA 1993) give long leasehold tenants an individual and collective right respectively to buy the freehold of their house or block of flats, as the case may be. In addition to conferring the collective right of enfranchisement, LRHUDA 1993 also widened the number of houses which could be the subject of individual enfranchisement. If the house or block of flats in question were the only property in the landlord’s portfolio, then this would not present any great problems for the landlord. However, potentially serious estate management issues might arise if the landlord were compelled under either Act to enter into involuntary and piecemeal sales of its portfolio. Both LRA 1967 and LRHUDA 1993 enable the landlord to impose a management scheme over a neighbourhood. These schemes, which survive enfranchisement, allow the landlord to retain powers of management over, and rights against, any property which is sold under either Act in order to preserve the character and appearance of the buildings, communal

Estate planning describes the process of arranging a person’s assets, liabilities and personal affairs during lifetime to control how they are managed, protected and distributed on incapacity and death. It is a descriptive term rather than a defined statutory concept in the UK or Ireland, and cuts across succession law, tax, trusts, family law and elder law.In practice, estate planning typically involves: drafting wills; creating lifetime trusts; using gifts and family investment structures; succession planning for family businesses; appointing attorneys under lasting/enduring powers of attorney; providing for vulnerable or minor beneficiaries; and coordinating pensions, life policies and survivorship arrangements.Advisers must consider inheritance tax (England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland), capital acquisitions tax (Ireland), capital gains tax, income tax and stamp duties, as well as forced heirship rules in Ireland and Scottish legal rights, which can restrict testamentary freedom. Northern Ireland largely follows the law of England & Wales, with local procedural and land law variations.Estate planning is central to risk management, asset protection, tax efficiency and the prevention of family disputes, and often requires multi‑jurisdictional and cross‑border analysis.

When selling a freehold property, sellers may wish to create positive covenants for future owners to perform. Problems may arise with the enforcement of positive covenants against successors. Covenants in leases bind the original tenant and their successors in title but positive covenants in freehold sales do not. An estate rentcharge may be used as one of the ways to protect and enforce covenants on freehold property.  For other methods see Practice Note: Positive covenants—binding successors in title. Since August 1977 it is only possible to create prescribed types of rentcharges including estate rentcharges. Estate rentcharges may be used to enforce: • positive covenants • service charge contributions to the cost of the rentcharge owner in performing covenants for the: ◦ provision of services ◦ carrying out of maintenance or repairs ◦ effecting of insurance, or ◦ making of any payment for the benefit of the land affected by the rentcharge or for the benefit of that and other land To create a legal rentcharge, the rentcharge must require the payment

Is a tax return required? Personal representatives (PRs) have a duty to report to HMRC any untaxed income received during the period of administration and any capital gains which have arisen in that period on the sale of property forming part of the deceased’s estate. In accordance with the general rule under section 7(3) of the Taxes Management Act 1970 (TMA 1970), there is no requirement for the PRs to notify chargeability where the only income received has been taxed at source or has a tax credit attributed to it (eg bank interest, dividends prior to 6 April 2016). In many cases up to tax year 2015–16, all of the estate income had been taxed at source and no return was necessary. From 2016–17, the taxation of dividend income changed with the abolition of the dividend tax credit. Tax is no longer automatically deducted at source on bank accounts. As PRs do not benefit from the dividend allowance nor the personal savings allowance available to individuals, PRs could potentially need to declare and pay tax on

The estate tax threshold is the value of a deceased person’s estate above which inheritance or estate tax becomes chargeable. In UK practice (England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), this usually refers to the inheritance tax (IHT) “nil‑rate band”, and, where relevant, the residence nil‑rate band. These thresholds are set out in the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 and related secondary legislation, and determine how much of an estate can be passed on free of IHT, taking into account exemptions, reliefs and transferable allowances between spouses or civil partners.In Ireland, the broadly equivalent concept is the Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) group thresholds for inheritances and gifts under the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003. Liability is assessed by reference to the relationship between the disponer and the beneficiary and the cumulative value of benefits received within each group threshold.The term “estate tax threshold” is therefore a descriptive cross‑border expression rather than a defined legal term. It is central to estate planning, will drafting, trust structuring and advising on lifetime gifting, as it frames tax exposure, availability of reliefs and reporting obligations to HMRC or Revenue.

This Practice Note considers compliance and accountability to IHT on an individual's estate on death, including: • accountability—the personal representatives' (PRs) duty to deliver an IHT account to HMRC • PRs' duty to make enquiries and give correct information to HMRC • Form IHT400 • reduced Form IHT400 • Form IHT205 for excepted estates (for deaths before 1 January 2022) • Form IHT207 for excepted estates of foreign domiciliaries • other cases where an IHT account need not be delivered • PRs' duty to deliver corrective accounts when valuations are amended or additional assets or liabilities come to light • Form IHT30 for optional application for clearance (statutory certificate of discharge) once sure that there will be no further changes to the IHT position • penalties and interest For information on IHT compliance for trusts, see Practice Note: Trusts—IHT returns and tax compliance. For information on the timing for filing and payment of IHT following an individual's death, see Practice Notes: IHT—payment deadlines on death and IHT—time limits for filing returns and paying tax—table. For

A statement prepared by an Insolvency Practitioner to estimate to creditors (or other parties) what the likely return to creditors will be. It will include the costs of the insolvency process (fees and expenses). An estimated outcome statement can also be used prior to appointment to provide the appointing lender with an indication of their possible losses.

A conversation with Kaupo Lepasepp, partner and Jürgen Adamson, associate, in the Tallinn office of regional law firm SORAINEN, on the key issues on foreign direct investment (FDI) control in Estonia. 1. What is the applicable legislation? On 25 January 2023, the Estonian Parliament adopted the Foreign Investment Reliability Assessment Act, which entered into force on 1 September 2023. The Act provides the conditions and procedure for the foreign investment authorisation obligation, for assessing the reliability of foreign investments and for exercising state supervision of compliance with corresponding requirements. In addition, two regulations in connection to the Act were adopted, which are further introduced below: Procedure for submitting an application for a foreign investment and Rules of Procedure of the Foreign Investment Commission (both available only in Estonian). Furthermore, certain limited types of investments may be subject to sector-specific regulations, which makes them de facto applicable to foreign direct investments (eg, acquisition of natural gas transmission system or agricultural and forest land), but these restrictions generally serve sector-specific purposes are only indirectly applicable to foreign direct investments. 2.

This table summarises all completed investigations by Estonian’s competition authority (the Konkurentsiamet) into alleged cartels, anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominant positions (Articles 101/102 TFEU and national equivalents) since 2017. Note—only investigations that have been made public are included in this table. 2024 Investigations under Article 101 TFEU/Chapter 2 of the Competition Act Case name, companies under investigation and industry Issues Developments Grain drying• 6 undertakings Restrictive agreement and cartel • Circuit Court issues judgment—17/01/2024; fines totalling €330,000 imposed Investigations under Article 102 TFEU/Chapter 4 of the Competition Act The Konkurentsiamet did not issue any decisions under Article 102/Chapter 4 in 2024. 2023 Investigations under Article 101 TFEU/Chapter 2 of

NOTE—to see whether notification thresholds in Estonia and throughout the world are met, see Where to Notify. 1. Have there been any recent developments regarding the Estonian merger control regime and are any updates/developments expected in the coming year? Are there any other ‘hot’ merger control issues in Estonia? The Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs published a legislative intent document in March 2026 contemplating amendments to the Estonian merger control regime. The contemplated amendments include, among others, the following: • Increase of the merger control turnover threshold: the Ministry is considering increasing the combined Estonian turnover threshold for merger control from €6m to €15m • Increase in fines for merger-related infringements: the Ministry is contemplating doubling the maximum fines, and • Increase of the state fee for merger review: the Ministry is considering increasing the state fee payable for the review of a merger notification from the current €1,920 to €4,800 The Ministry has not yet published a draft act based on the legislative intent document as of 10 July 2026. It therefore remains unclear whether, and