The Boconnoc Estate, purchased by the family in 1717 with proceeds from the sale of the famous Pitt Diamond, has historical significance as a house of refuge for both Charles I and Charles II. The 7,500-acre estate was the site of tragedy in 2015 when Anthony Fortescue, the High Sheriff, was found shot dead; an inquest heard he had suffered bouts of psychotic depression since the 1980s but had never spoken of suicide, leading a coroner to record an open verdict, unable to rule out an accidental death. 4 million to her daughter Clare while minimizing inheritance tax, but blunders in the process she followed left the family facing the need to sell properties to meet the tax bill.
2 million. The court heard that Elizabeth Fortescue had initially been given correct tax planning advice, and the exact ruling that saved the estate remains unspecified, though it prevented the breakup. Elizabeth and her late husband Anthony embarked on a 12-year multimillion-pound renovation of the main manor house starting in 2000, with the family described as property rich but cash poor, and the estate is now used as a luxury wedding venue.
It's crystal clear this was a clear mistake. This was [a] conscious thought process that this was an exempt transfer and that was clearly mistaken.
There's no way in which this can be seen as artificial tax avoidance. This is plain vanilla tax mitigation gone wrong.
This is an estate which has been in the family for a long time. A huge amount of time and effort has been spent by Elizabeth and her late husband restoring the historic building and putting it on a stable footing. The restoration of the main manor house took 12 years.
This is not a trust which is swimming in cash. It is Elizabeth who made the mistake. If she had known the effect, she would never have done it.
To pay £1.2m in tax, the trusts would have to sell properties.