A NORTH-EAST company has joined a new UK network to help people threatened by large inheritance tax payments.

The Will Writing Group, based in Newcastle, has become a member of the Legal Services Network (LSN), which will operate in seven regions across the UK to offer advice on how to reduce the inheritance tax liability for beneficiaries of a will.

A surge in house prices across the country, with Newcastle being an area of particularly steep growth, has seen more estates than ever valued at more than £285,000, making them liable for 40 per cent inheritance tax.

The newly-established LSN offers a combination of financial planning expertise and legal knowledge, to help ensure clients' wills are legally binding and professionally planned to eliminate or limit the amount of inheritance tax being incurred.

Derek Oldfield, director of The Will Writing Group, said: "The Legal Services Network gives our business a greater critical mass as part of a bigger, national network.

"All too often, families are forced to hand over a high proportion of an estate to the Chancellor simply because they did not receive the right advice about inheritance tax and wills.

"While many may not feel comfortable thinking about their mortality, it is becoming increasingly important.

"With divorce becoming more commonplace and the family unit becoming ever more complicated, the need to be suitably prepared to pass on a legacy to loved ones is imperative."