Wills & Inheritance Planning

We will provide you with the inheritance plan that is most suitable for your particular circumstances, ranging from the basic to the more bespoke. This inheritance plan will focus on the most appropriate Will form for you and any complementary lifetime tax planning and asset protection measures (sometimes involving lifetime trusts) where necessary.

Wills

We believe that making an appropriate Will is the foundation of all good inheritance planning. The advantages in making a Will are that :

• You can choose who will be responsible for administering your estate and looking after your young children rather than leaving it to chance.

• You can decide who inherits your assets in a controlled manner rather than relying on the default intestacy rules which can sometimes produce very surprising and unfair results.

• You can provide for the orderly succession of your family business without treating other family members unfairly.

• You can take appropriate asset protection measures to safeguard your assets from the potential future care fees of your spouse or partner.

• You can protect your children’s continuing entitlement to means tested state benefits by placing your inheritance to them into a will trust.

• You can incorporate measures to mitigate inheritance tax for your family on your death and thereafter.

If you already have a Will, it is important that you look to review your Will on a regular basis to ensure that it continues to reflect your uptodate circumstances and wishes.

Lifetime tax planning

An important element in your continuing inheritance planning is to consider possible appropriate lifetime tax planning. There are many different possible approaches to mitigate your potential inheritance tax liability, ranging from the very simple to the more complex (sometimes involving the setting up of lifetime trusts). We have a particular niche experience in helping to maximise your ability to claim business property relief and/or agricultural property relief for inheritance tax purposes if you are a business owner or a farmer.

In advising you, we would always aim to look at your particular circumstances and offer you the most practical, effective and cost efficient solution.  Everyone is, after all, different. We would normally look at applying the following basic principles in giving any lifetime tax planning advice to you :

• What are your objectives ?

• Can you achieve your tax planning goals through your Will ?  Or do you need to involve lifetime tax planning measures ?

• What assets do you own which are surplus to your current and future financial requirements ?

• Which assets are the most appropriate to be gifted or arranged in a tax efficient manner ?

• Is it appropriate to place any assets in a trust or other asset holding vehicle ?