I am not tax expert but as I understand it, if a person's estate is worth more than £325,000 the taxman looks at gifts/donations given in the seven years prior to that death. Tax will be payable either from the estate or from the person who recieved the gift if there is not enough in the estate to cover that amount. There are various different amounts folk can give to others depending upon the relationship to that person and the reason for the gift, spouse, grandparents, whether it's a wedding gift or a birthday present for example,