"'In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
A death of a person means the birth of an Estate. The estate will live on until a copy of the division of properties is handed in to the tax administration. Consequently an estate may exist for a long period of time and even practice business. The lifecycle of an estate is a question for the heirs. Sometimes it is smart to distribute all property of the deceased's estate at once, and sometimes it is smart to administer the property in the name of the estate for tax reasons.
An Estate is taxed for it's income in Finland. By being clear on how Estates are being taxed, it is possible to reduce the tax burden significantly for the parties of the Estate as well as for the Estate itself. It's all about timing actually i.e.. knowing when to act and in whose name to take action.
It is wise to bring up these questions when preparing the estate inventory with an inheritance lawyer, who has insight in these types of questions.
All it takes is a family that co-operates and dare discuss these issues openly and with a trusted and competent legal advisor. Because you are not able to get away from taxes, but it is possible to reduce them...
or as Benjamin Franklin (1706-90) in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, 1789 so adequately put it:
"'In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
