Estate Planning
for you and your Family
Estate Planning is a complex area that has many facets and complexities. Whether you are coming to this for the first time or revising existing plans our expert team
is here to help and advise you how to get it right so that your estate is safeguarded for your beneficiaries
certainty that when the time comes, your final wishes will be shared with your family and loved ones
Estate planning ensures that your final wishes are respected and carried out. So you can rest with the peace of mind that your assets and treasured possessions will be passed to the family and loved ones you choose. Not only that, but you can manage the risks of generational disinheritance, sideways disinheritance, and pay the right amount of inheritance tax, and not a penny more.
Updating your Will
Have you considered a regular review as part of your ongoing estate planning? Things change over the years. You may buy a new property, get married, have children and grandchildren. You might get divorced and remarry.
There are countless events that will happen during your lifetime that can affect your will. Not to mention changes to taxes like inheritance tax and the law regarding estate planning and inheritance.
A regular review means that your will remains up to date with your current personal and financial position, and risks like inheritance tax and sideways disinheritance can be managed for your beneficiaries.
Your Will
Your will isn’t simply a document that lays out how your estate is to be divided, and who your beneficiaries are. It is a complex document that lays out your final wishes. You can lay out who would care for your children, for example, in the event of your death. You can decide who you wish to receive particular treasured items, and of course, it details how your estate is to be managed and how your assets are to be divided after your death.
It is a document that shouldn’t be completed and put in a draw but stored carefully as your final communication with your family and loved ones. Not only can we produce a will with you through our free, self written or estate planning services, but we offer options for secure storage too.
Estate Planning
Estate planning is the process of considering how you can ensure that your final wishes are met after your death, and pass on your assets and possessions to the people you choose, in the most tax efficient way so that future generations of your family can continue to enjoy your successes, and honour your memory through your treasured possessions and the memories that they hold.
Our team understands that contemplating your own death can be an emotional journey, so we blend that understanding with our knowledge and experience of the estate planning process
Trusts
There are numerous trusts that are designed to protect assets, people and possessions in different ways. Choosing the right trust is complex. The benefit of including appropriate trusts in your will means that you can protect your assets from risks like generational inheritance tax and ensure that the right amount of tax is paid. That means that your assets go to your family and loved ones.
Trusts can also be used to great effect to protect against risks like sideways disinheritance or bankruptcy.
They are an effective tool for defending assets from attack and ensuring that your beneficiaries receive what you wish to leave them.
This is a complex area of law, and we would recommend that you always seek professional advice before attempting to create a trust.
Our team has the expert knowledge to advise on the best course of action during the estate planning process and can help you decide whether a trust is right for your circumstances, how to create one properly, and incorporate in your will.
Risks of poor estate planning
There are some significant risks if the estate planning process is incomplete or done badly. Your estate can be left open to legal challenge by people who may wish to take a greater share of your assets than you had left, if you had left anything. You may leave a large inheritance tax bill that must be paid from your estate by your family. That could mean the sale of assets, like the family home for example.
And for blended families there are challenges that could leave your children disinherited in the worst case scenario. This risk starts after a divorce or death of a spouse in a first marriage, so being aware of this challenge is important.
There are other risks too like generational inheritance tax where your assets could be taxed at every generation, and more inheritance tax as a result of not meeting legal requirements like the 7 year rule.
inheritance tax
Inheritance tax is payable on estates above a certain value. The current threshold below which no inheritance tax is payable is £325,000. IHT is payable on assets above that threshold at 40%. But like most taxes, it’s not as simple as that. There are dispensations for leaving money to charities and certain organisations above the threshold. You are allowed to leave money and assets to people 7 years or more before your death tax free, and you can pass your full allowance on to your spouse.
If your estate does have an inheritance tax liability, payment for this must be arranged by the executor of your will.
The liability doesn’t end with you though. When the beneficiaries of your will die, the assets that you left them are subject to inheritance tax in the same way, so your descendants could pay inheritance tax again and again on the same assets.
There are ways to manage the risk of paying too much inheritance tax that requires expert knowledge and professional advice. Our estate planning consultants are experienced in this area and can work with you through the estate planning process to ensure that future generations pay the right amount of tax.
