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Chapter 22

‘Tellme about this will,’ Poe said.

‘Why?’

‘The police think it’s motivation.’

‘Really?’

‘Heard it straight from the senior investigating officer’s mouth.’

‘They’ve got it wrong,’ Ania said. ‘Elcidhadupdated his will recently, and itwasin Estelle’s favour.’

‘I sense a “but” coming.’

‘It’s only in her favour if you consider it in the binary. If I were forced to answer yes or no, I would say yes, the new willisbetter for Estelle.’

‘But if you were allowed to give a fuller answer?’

‘I would say the new will only increases Miss Doyle’s inheritance by around five per cent.’

‘I thought she’d been left a house?’

‘A farm, actually. But yes, she had.’

‘I’m not following,’ Poe said.

‘What do you know about inheritance tax, Sergeant Poe?’

‘Not much.’

‘Elcid Doyle did,’ she said. ‘And with the help of our firm he made arrangements to ensure that, within the law, he reduced Estelle’s tax burden when he died.’

‘By gifting her a farm?’

‘No. This was the late addition. It had been a farm tenancy and Elcid’s previous will had left it to the long-term tenant – a family who had lived there for three generations.’

‘What happened?’

‘The farmer died without having anyone to leave the tenancy to.Elcid added the farm to what Estelle would inherit.’

‘But he’d made arrangements prior to that?’

‘Very shrewd arrangements,’ Ania said. ‘Were you aware you can avoid paying inheritance tax on a property if you give it to someone at least seven years before your death?’

‘Vaguely,’ Poe said.

‘There’s more to it than that, obviously. If you want to stay in the property, you have to pay rent and bills and tick a few other boxes, but Elcid complied fully with the law when he passed on the family home – we made sure of it.’

‘And how much is it worth?’

‘I can’t discuss my client’s financial circumstances, but I can say it’s worth considerably more than the farm. Add in ten years of rent, which had been held in trust for Miss Doyle, and the addition of the farm in the new will accounts for—’

‘Five per cent of her inheritance.’

‘Exactly.’

‘Do the CPS know this?’