Sir Bruce Forsyth left £17m fortune to his wife Wilnelia to avoid hefty inheritance tax bill
The telly legend died aged 89 on Friday and was reportedly too frail to say goodbye to his pals
SIR Bruce Forsyth has reportedly left his £17million fortune to his wife Wilnelia Merced in order to avoid a hefty inheritance tax bill.
The telly favourite passed away on Friday at the age of 89 and was remembered by his legions of fans and colleagues.
Wilnelia was Bruce's third wife and the mother of his son JJ. Bruce also had three daughters Debbie, Julie and Laura with his frist wife Penny Calvert who he split from in 1973.
By leaving his multi-million pound fortune to his wife of 34 years, Wilnelia will avoid having to pay a large inheritance tax bill.
The law states that spouses and civil partners can leave their assets to each other without being taxed.
The Daily Star Sunday reports that Wilnelia plans to "distribute a chunk of his estate among his five other children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren".
The 59-year-old former Miss World is now the director of his private company and can give gifts of up to £650,000 to Bruce's relatives tax-free.
A source said: “Bruce hated the idea of his estate getting devalued by inheritance tax and spoke about that publicly before his death.
“But leaving everything to Wilnelia means he avoids inheritance tax.
“He is likely to have done that as he trusted her to distribute the wealth among their relatives, and because she can give a significant amount away tax-free to their family, it means they end up with more.”
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When asked about inheritance tax laws in 2015, Bruce said it was "over the top".
He said: “I think your inheritance should go to your children more than back to the country that you’ve lived in.
“I’m not saying you don’t owe the country something, of course you owe your country a lot for living there all those years. But I think it can be a bit over the top.”
Bruce Forsyth Enterprises is reported to be worth £6.2million.
The couple lived in a Surrey mansion worth £4million and Spears magazine estimated the former Strictly Come Dancing was worth £17million in total.
The couple also owned two properties in Wilnelia's native Puerto Rico worth £2million.
The newspaper reports that Bruce charged £25,000 for personal appearances and was paid £500,00 for his 2001 autobiography.
Bruce was also said to have £4million in "private savings, investments and assets such as jewellery and antiques".
Meanwhile, The Sun On Sunday revealed that Bruce's family are planning a BBC-backed memorial at Westminster Abbey to pay tribute to the TV legend.
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