Although many residents may quit the

UK for reasons other than lower taxes, their estates could be highly taxed when they die unless people make sufficient financial plans for often complex overseas tax regimes, warns The Way Group, a wealth management and tax planning specialist.

The firm’s warning comes at a time when it is predicted that up to three million

UK residents could quit the country to live abroad by the middle of this century. Cheap air travel and modern communications - enabling expats to keep in touch with friends back home - high taxes, crime, poor weather, and poor health care are some of the issues cited in reports about why

UK residents are moving overseas in big numbers.

But in their eagerness to leave the

UK, some residents may be ignoring potential tax pitfalls in their new homes, the firm said.

“Whatever your age and wherever you’re going, it’s vitally important that the issue of inheritance tax planning is addressed before you leave the country,” says WAY Group’s Paul Wilcox. “Every country has its own rules affecting IHT and the result of an altered domicile status without a tax mitigation strategy could be financially disastrous.”

 “We are now seeing countries like

Turkey attracting more Brits as permanent residents – but this is a territory with incredibly complex, family orientated IHT planning laws, and retirees could seriously lose out if they do not take expert advice,” he said.

Many private banks offer clients tax-planning advice on moving abroad either as an add-on service or as part of their overall service package.