Unsure of where to go for help, they contacted their financial adviser, Eamon Porter of Aspire Wealth Management in Malahide, Co Dublin.

"In many ways Frank and Eva were and are typical of many Irish people holding property. Their initial focus is on making capital gains without thinking through what tax issues may arise at a later stage, " says Porter.

They settled on a two-stage strategy. The first was to find a tax-efficient way of transferring some of the properties immediately to their children.

The second was to put funding in place to allow the children pay the taxes that would fall due when they inherit the rest of the properties.

"The first stage necessitated interaction with their tax adviser and involved the phased transfer of individual properties together with the attaching mortgage to each child when they turned 18, " says Porter. "The properties were selected partly to give the girls a step up on the property ladder as well as minimising the amount of capital gains tax and gift tax due. As the rent roll on each property was almost servicing the loans, the issue of borrowings caused no major difficulty."

The transfers triggered several taxes . . . gift tax and stamp duty for the children and capital gains tax for Frank and Eva because they were disposing of the properties.

Gift tax was the easy one because it is based on the net value of the properties after taking the mortgages into account. This kept the tax bill low and, because it was based on net values, the transfer used up relatively little of taxfree thresholds that govern gifts and inheritances from parents. The CGT was trickier.

"Unfortunately, Frank and Eva could not avail of the borrowings as a deduction for the CGT calculation so they were subject to normal charges, " says Porter. "Luckily, however, one of the properties was transferred prior to 2002, when full indexation relief still applied, and before major property hikes substantially increased the CGT liabilities."

Stamp duty is normally a major headache, especially on commercial property transactions, where it is levied at a flat 9%. But Frank and Eva's family managed to cut the bill by claiming consanguinity relief, which cuts stamp duty in two on transfers of land and buildings to certain relatives, including children.

Turning to the future, Porter recommended that Frank and Eva take out Section 60 life assurance, which would pay out a tax-free lump sum that their children could used to pay the tax when they inherit.

"I was keen that we purchase life cover as soon as possible, when Frank and Eva were still in good health, as I have pointed experience of clients putting life assurance on the long finger only for them to experience some medical problem which then makes cover very expensive or impossible to obtain, " says Porter. "This turned out to be particularly relevant as, almost two years after arranging the transfer of the first property and the Section 60 policy, Eva had an unexpected angioplasty as well as the insertion of two stents. The old adage of 'never put off until tomorrow what you can do today' was borne out fully in their case."

Aspire Wealth Management (01-8455827) www. aspire-wealth. com