A wealth management firm has warned that rising house prices will leave more homeowners liable to a heavy inheritance tax bill.
North West-based Ludlow Wealth Management Group said the number of UK homeowners hit by inheritance tax is set to double over the next four years.
David Hardman, director at Ludlow, said: "With house prices steadily rising, many people will now be liable for thousands of pounds in inheritance tax, even if they have never previously earned enough to pay higher-rate tax."
{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}
The warning comes as Unbiased.co.uk research estimated £530 million in inheritance tax would be handed over unnecessarily in 2014 by individuals not placing life protection policies 'under trust'.
The study also found only 27% of people would be confident in tackling inheritance tax planning without the help of a professional adviser.
The tax is set at a fixed rate of 40 per cent on assets at death which exceed £325,000.
In the last budget the IHT threshold was frozen until 2018, despite house prices rising at an average rate of 3.4% a year.
Experts at Ludlow warned that because of this 'ordinary' families will be unwittingly caught if they do not consider alternatives.
Mr Hardman said: "Whilst there has been some relaxation in inheritance tax rules in recent years, many families are still unnecessarily caught by this tax.
"Even those who think they have fairly moderate wealth may still need to consider taking action, particularly if they own property and have savings and pensions as their estate could exceed the £325,000 threshold.
"Effective estate planning is becoming more important to decide how to leave assets to those who matter most to you in the most effective way."