Ana Clarke wants to spend her money on enjoying experiences with her son during her lifetime
Nine-year-old Noah will not be receiving a penny in inheritance from his mother, Ana Clarke.
Instead, 39-year-old Ana says she plans to use her money in the here and now, living a “good life” and enjoying holidays and experiences with her son while she is still around.
She also wants him to work from the ground up to earn his own money, and plans to teach him to do this when he is older.
Ana, who moved from Romania to the UK 16 years ago and now lives in Kent, spent years working in the farming sector before switching to life coaching. She now earns around £3,000 per month via her business and ad hoc translation work.
She says in 2015, her life changed for ever. Her father suffered multiple strokes and died suddenly.
He did not leave Ana anything in cash terms and she says the lessons he passed during his life were so valuable, which has partly been the inspiration behind her own plans.
But despite intentions, she still does not believe it is right to tax inheritance, for those families who have a different approach to her.
Ana’s story
“My father passed away one month after my wedding and I was pregnant at the time. In Romania, his own family had been very poor, but he’d worked his way up and was a colonel in the military,” said Ana.
“He died suddenly and didn’t leave us anything. He’d given us good life lessons and knew about hardship. ‘Without adversity, no one grows,’ he would tell me. He also told me he loved seeing the spark in our eyes when we achieved something for ourselves.”
She told The i Paper: “I am team ‘no inheritance’ and will be teaching my son how he can create his own wealth. I am a strong independent woman and want my son to be a strong and financially independent man.
“I want him to be financially savvy and will not be leaving him anything when I die. He will understand that he doesn’t need to rely on anyone else for money and will have the hunger within him to earn it.”
“I want to live life fully in the moment now. Teaching my son good values and giving him experiences is far more important than anything else. I will give him the lessons he needs so he can put down a deposit for a home himself, start his own business or have multiple income streams and a fallback plan.”
She added: “In the meantime, I will be spending money on enjoying life with my son in the here and now. The plan is for us to have a really good life with lots of experiences and holidays while I’m still around.”
Ana, who rents a three-bedroom house in Kent for £2,050 each month and receives maintenance for her son from her ex-husband, is not currently adding money to a pension or savings or investments.
She has two pension pots from former jobs, which she hopes Noah will use to pay for her funeral in the future.
“I hope he will give me a beautiful send-off when the time comes”, she said.
Still opposed to inheritance tax
Ana, who runs life coaching business Lifezone Training, is still opposed to the UK’s inheritance tax regime, despite not planning on leaving anything to her son.
She think it is unfair for those that do not want to leave cash to their families and have already been taxed on the money they have earned.
She hopes that changes announced in the 2024 Budget, which bring pensions into scope for inheritance tax and alter the system for farmers, will be scrapped.
She said: “The inheritance tax regime is shocking and upsetting. People work hard all their lives and yet money which has already been taxed is taxed again after you die. This is not something loved ones should have to deal with.
“It is very unfair. In some countries, there is zero inheritance tax. It doesn’t make sense to me why my son should have to pay it. We don’t even know what the inheritance tax money is spent on.”
Ana told The i Paper she had seen families torn apart by inheritance disputes and people lose their sense of purpose and drive to succeed after receiving substantial sums from relatives.
“When money is involved, people change”, Ana said.
Ana is not alone in her stance on inheritance.
James Bond star Daniel Craig once said inheritance was “distasteful”, while billionaire Bill Gates plans to only leave a fraction of his wealth to his children.
Research from SunLife in October 2024 revealed that a third of people in their sixties would rather spend their savings enjoying later life than leave an inheritance for their children.
What are your options when planning your inheritance?
It is up to an individual to determine how they want their assets to be divided when they die. No one should feel pressured into following a course of action they do not wish to take.
In the UK, the standard inheritance tax rate is 40 per cent and is charged on the part of an estate that is above the tax-free threshold, which is currently £325,000.
There is generally no tax to pay if the estate has a value less than the £325,000 threshold, or if everything is left to a spouse, civil partner or charity.
You need to be worth £325,000 if you are single, or £650,000 jointly if you are married or in a civil partnership, for your loved ones to have to stump up death inheritance tax.
But there is a further hefty allowance which increases the threshold to a joint £1m if you have a partner, own a property, and intend to leave money to your direct descendants, like children or grandchildren.
Following Rachel Reeves’s Budget in October, from April 2026 a 20 per cent inheritance tax rate will apply to agricultural assets over a £1m threshold. Crucially, for all households pensions will also be included in the assets that count towards inheritance tax from April 2027.
Christopher Hallan, head of financial planning at First Wealth, said: “Often, we hear parents say they want their children to stand on their own two feet and a big inheritance might stifle that drive.”
On alternative approaches, he said: “If you decide to do something different with your legacy – not to leave an inheritance, or to leave everything to charity – it is worth thinking it through carefully. It is your money and your choice, but big surprises can cause big arguments. If possible, chat with your loved ones about your plans. An honest conversation can go a long way.”
There are different options available for those who wish to limit inheritance tax for loved ones, including gifting money earlier and making the most of any allowances available.
