So are you saying the estate pays the tax rather than the individual receiving the gift ?

Like I say we really need to sort out someone trust worthy to sort this out but my parents dont trust banks, they got caught up in a big lawsuit AIG/Coutts and since then have been on their own.

What you want is a U.K. lawyer specializing in inheritance tax, of which I am sure there are many. The US won’t tax gifts made by a non US person, and won’t tax an inheritance so long as it is not held within a trust. So long as they steer clear of that it’s all about U.K. inheritance tax.

Probably the best bet to save inheritance tax is have the kids inherit the property and for the parents to gift as much of their cash as they are comfortable doing so. If your parents survive 7 years after the gift was made it is tax free, if they die within 3 years of making the gift it is taxed at 40%, and is on a sliding scale in between. I believe the estate pays the tax, but if the estate had no funds to do so, they likely would come to the recipient next, but someone else more familiar with U.K. law could confirm or refute that.

Exactly, see GG’s post above.

more info here

https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax

I'd just like to thank everyone once again for their response to my question. Ruling out taking ownership of part of my parent's home, made everything much simpler. I then only had to worry about HMRC. I have advised my parents to leave everything to each other first, and when they both pass to my sibling and I. With the 1 million allowance before inheritance tax kicks in, we don't actually have anything to worry about.

My wife and I were living in the USA when the last of our parents died. In both cases we each had 3 siblings and after they passed, their house was sold and added to their estate before the proceeds were split and distributed to the children. (Neither estate was over £1m). No taxes paid when the proceeds were distributed. As well as my wife and I living in the USA my brother was living in Australia.

Thanks durham_lad That is very reassuring - your experience matches my newfound understanding.