Estate planning
Estate planning is all about making sure that your assets go to the right people at the right time. The main four areas you'll want to consider as part of any review are your wills, your inheritance tax position, whether trusts are needed and lasting and enduring powers of attorney. These four together will help to ensure that your money goes where you want it to after your death.
Wills
Wills are not regulated in the UK so it is possible to have one that is completely inadequate for your circumstances.
Circumstances also change over time so it is important to treat your Will as a living document.
If you don't have a valid will in place when you die then your money, property and possessions will be shared out according to the law of intestacy, instead of your wishes.
Inheritance tax
Managing your tax liabilities is not about avoidance, but about making sure you understand the tax system and managing it accordingly.
Tax laws in the UK are complex and so it is necessary to sit down and review all of your assets, how you want them distributed in the event of your death and then planning out how to do that in the most tax efficient way possible within the bounds of the law.
We will guide you through this process.
Trusts
When planning your estate trusts are an important concept to understand because they are a useful tool and not just for the super wealthy.
There are many different types of trust that can be used depending on the complexity of your financial affairs, business and family situation.
At its most basic, a trust is simply a mechanism/vehicle that deals with how, when and the conditions around how you want your assets distributed after you die.
Powers of Attorney
We live much longer lives now and we don't always have the capacity to deal with our own affairs until the end.
A Lasting Power of Attorney lets you take control of who has the power to deal with your affairs if you are unable to.
If the unimaginable happens, having this in place will leave your family in a much better position and means that they won't have to go through the Court system to deal with your affairs. Note you may also need one for your business if you own one.
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