Making a Will


Do you want your assets to be dealt with after your death in accordance with your wishes and not according to Rules set by the Government? Well if that is the case you need to make a Will!

Everyone should do so and update it regularly to ensure that after their death, their assets are distributed quickly and efficiently amongst their own, chosen beneficiaries. Putting it off because you are too young is a mistake too often made, so don’t leave things to chance in the uncertain world we live in.

You can rely on us to:

  1. Ensure your assets go to your chosen beneficiaries
  2. Help you appoint suitable Executors and Guardians if you have young children
  3. Ensure you are aware of how to best navigate through the taxation minefield and choose strategies that can be used in your Will to mitigate the impact of taxation after your death and maximise the amount passing to your beneficiaries
  4. Provide you with advice from us on how best to deal with family circumstances such as ongoing maintenance payments or business matters such as the split of, or classification of family shares for inheritance tax purposes
  5. Work closely with your Accountants, and Financial Advisors to ensure that an integrated approach is adopted to managing your finances both before and after your death

You can have a Will drawn up that goes a long way to legitimately reducing what the Tax man can and we can advise on avoidance and mitigation of this tax by:

  1. Looking at tax efficient arrangements, including Wills and Trusts designed to take account of, reduce or even avoid future liability to pay Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Income Tax
  2. Setting up Will structures to include Discretionary and Property Trusts
  3. Making lifetime gifts either to Trusts or individuals
  4. Ensuring use is being made of your annual exemptions, especially by making regular gifts out of surplus income
  5. Asking us to work together with your Financial Advisers and Stockbrokers
  6. Allow us to introduce you to Financial Advisers or Stockbrokers
  7. Our ensuring that your Financial Adviser is involved and considers other regulated options such as planning funding for Inheritance Tax through a life policy, purchasing discounted gift trusts, AIM (Alternative Investment Market) portfolios or perhaps equity release products to help reduce Inheritance Tax

We also advise Personal Representatives and Trustees on their obligations, now even more onerous for Trustees following the changes introduced in legislation

So making a Will is a start – the real challenge is to make one that maximises the value of what you leave to your loved ones and minimises what you leave for the Tax man!

Inheritance Tax Planning

If you are thinking of making a Will and want to maximise the value of what you can leave to your loved ones how sure are you about what Tax will be charged against your estate when you die?

You can get a much better idea by talking to us about what you are wanting to achieve and then we will explore with you the best way of making that happen.

We will help you take advantage of a wide range of planning advice and techniques from utilising annual exemptions to planning for company disposals and minimising Capital Gains and Inheritance Tax.

Reducing the Tax Burden

You, like us, will feel that you pay enough Tax while you are alive and are therefore determined to pay as little as possible when you die! However, the tax burden on us all regularly increases, so there is all the more reason to stay ahead of the Revenue, to ensure your tax liabilities are legitimately as low as possible.

The value of your house has probably risen and fallen in recent years but overall property prices are higher than they have been for many years which means that more and more of us are now affected by Inheritance Tax.