Careful and considered estate planning will protect assets for the lifetime of the owner and for the generations which follow. Our team seeks to assist our clients with the estate planning process throughout their lives, providing the necessary advice and assistance which will allow our clients to confidently deal with their assets, ensuring that these are dealt with in the most tax efficient way possible, having regard to the specific circumstances of each client and their wishes.
The department is led by Douglas Smith, who has over 30 years’ experience dealing with all types of trust, estate and tax matters including those with complex issues and where assets and/or beneficiaries are located in multiple jurisdictions.
Lifetime gifts can often be the most appropriate way to ensure that your chosen beneficiaries receive assets at a time that is most beneficial to them, while also minimising potential tax liabilities. By making gifts during your lifetime, you can take advantage of exemptions, reduce your estate’s value and potentially lessen future inheritance tax burdens.
Our team is experienced in providing tailored legal advice and guidance on lifetime gifts, helping you structure gifts in the most tax- efficient manner. Whether you wish to make a personal gift to family members, friends, or even charities, we can assist in ensuring your intentions are carried out seamlessly and with legal certainty.
Whether you wish to make a gift in your lifetime, create a trust, prepare a Will or otherwise dispose of your assets, tax consequences are sure to follow. We can provide tailored and accessible advice on the practical and tax consequences of any proposed gift and the available tax reliefs, providing the most tax efficient solution to any tax- related issue.
It is also imperative that you take appropriate investment advice to preserve and increase your wealth in the most tax efficient manner possible. To complement our services, we can introduce you to one of our professional contacts who is able to provide you with appropriate investment advice having regard to your circumstances.
Whether you’re creating a trust, managing a trust as a trustee or wishing to make distributions to end the trust, we can assist with any required advice and the preparation of the appropriate documents, making the process as efficient and effective as possible.
During the lifetime of the trust, we can deal with the registration of the trust on the HMRC online trusts registration service and any Self-Assessment tax compliance together with any IHT compliance that may be required on behalf of the trustees. We can also assist by preparing any subsidiary trust documentation that may be required from time to time, such as trustees’ resolutions, deeds of appointment, deeds of partition etc.
Should you wish to create a trust or appoint new/additional trustees, our partners are also happy to act as trustees, providing reliable and professional advice and trust management throughout the lifetime of the trust.
Family investment companies can be a tax- effective and flexible tool for managing family wealth. We can assist with the creation and funding of a Family Investment Company including the preparation of the Memorandum and Articles of Association and the documentation whether by a transfer of assets or a loan.
If required, we can recommend one of our professional accountancy contacts to deal with the necessary tax compliance once the company has been established.
In order to ensure that your estate is administered after your death in a way which accords with your wishes and is as tax efficient as possible, it is imperative that you prepare a Will and review it at regular intervals.
We can assist with preparing your Will having regard to your wishes and family circumstances in the most flexible and beneficial way possible from the point of view of tax as well as the preparation of an inventory of your assets (physical, financial, and digital) and liabilities which should be updated from time to time (and ideally kept with your Will) to assess the potential IHT payable following your death. Once these documents are prepared and if required, we can contact you at annual or shorter intervals as necessary, as part of an ongoing tax planning service.
Our partners are also able to act as executors and trustees of your Will.
Of equal importance is the preparation of Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) to ensure that if you should become frail or lose your mental capacity decisions regarding your finances can be made by an individual or individuals you trust to act in your best interest.
We often prepare Property and Financial Affairs LPAs (including a separate LPA to deal with your business interests) and Health and Welfare LPAs and arrange for their registration at the Office of the Public Guardian to give our clients the peace of mind of knowing that should anything happen to them, they will be cared for and their affairs administered by their chosen attorney(s).
Estate administration is the process of dealing with your assets, debts, and taxes following death.
We are experienced in all areas of probate, from simple matters where the deceased left a valid Will with few beneficiaries, to more complex matters, including obtaining grants of representation for the UK estate of individuals who lived abroad. Members of our Private Client team have obtained UK grants of probate and letters of administration for the estates of individuals who died in various foreign territories, including Italy, France, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Australia, South Africa, and the US, and we are familiar with managing the complexities of UK inheritance law alongside the legal frameworks and regulations of other countries.
We deal with the tax compliance elements of estate administration, including the preparation, filing and payment of IHT returns, advising on and ensuring that any available reliefs are claimed, including heritage property relief for works of art and chattels. Additionally, we assist with the management of any UK income tax and capital gains tax that may be payable by the personal representatives for UK Self-Assessment tax purposes. This includes advising on the tax implications of asset disposals, income generated by the estate, and ensuring that all relevant tax obligations are met in a timely and efficient manner.
From notifying relevant third parties of the death of the deceased, to making final distributions to beneficiaries, we can assist and advise on every step of the probate process, no matter how complex, to make what can be an emotional and difficult process as easy and stress-free as possible for our clients.
Careful and considered estate planning will protect assets for the lifetime of the owner and for the generations which follow. Our team seeks to assist our clients with the estate planning process throughout their lives, providing the necessary advice and assistance which will allow our clients to confidently deal with their assets, ensuring that these are dealt with in the most tax efficient way possible, having regard to the specific circumstances of each client and their wishes.
The department is led by Douglas Smith, who has over 30 years’ experience dealing with all types of trust, estate and tax matters including those with complex issues and where assets and/or beneficiaries are located in multiple jurisdictions.
Lifetime gifts can often be the most appropriate way to ensure that your chosen beneficiaries receive assets at a time that is most beneficial to them, while also minimising potential tax liabilities. By making gifts during your lifetime, you can take advantage of exemptions, reduce your estate’s value and potentially lessen future inheritance tax burdens.
Our team is experienced in providing tailored legal advice and guidance on lifetime gifts, helping you structure gifts in the most tax- efficient manner. Whether you wish to make a personal gift to family members, friends, or even charities, we can assist in ensuring your intentions are carried out seamlessly and with legal certainty.
Whether you wish to make a gift in your lifetime, create a trust, prepare a Will or otherwise dispose of your assets, tax consequences are sure to follow. We can provide tailored and accessible advice on the practical and tax consequences of any proposed gift and the available tax reliefs, providing the most tax efficient solution to any tax- related issue.
It is also imperative that you take appropriate investment advice to preserve and increase your wealth in the most tax efficient manner possible. To complement our services, we can introduce you to one of our professional contacts who is able to provide you with appropriate investment advice having regard to your circumstances.
Whether you’re creating a trust, managing a trust as a trustee or wishing to make distributions to end the trust, we can assist with any required advice and the preparation of the appropriate documents, making the process as efficient and effective as possible.
During the lifetime of the trust, we can deal with the registration of the trust on the HMRC online trusts registration service and any Self-Assessment tax compliance together with any IHT compliance that may be required on behalf of the trustees. We can also assist by preparing any subsidiary trust documentation that may be required from time to time, such as trustees’ resolutions, deeds of appointment, deeds of partition etc.
Should you wish to create a trust or appoint new/additional trustees, our partners are also happy to act as trustees, providing reliable and professional advice and trust management throughout the lifetime of the trust.
Family investment companies can be a tax- effective and flexible tool for managing family wealth. We can assist with the creation and funding of a Family Investment Company including the preparation of the Memorandum and Articles of Association and the documentation whether by a transfer of assets or a loan.
If required, we can recommend one of our professional accountancy contacts to deal with the necessary tax compliance once the company has been established.
In order to ensure that your estate is administered after your death in a way which accords with your wishes and is as tax efficient as possible, it is imperative that you prepare a Will and review it at regular intervals.
We can assist with preparing your Will having regard to your wishes and family circumstances in the most flexible and beneficial way possible from the point of view of tax as well as the preparation of an inventory of your assets (physical, financial, and digital) and liabilities which should be updated from time to time (and ideally kept with your Will) to assess the potential IHT payable following your death. Once these documents are prepared and if required, we can contact you at annual or shorter intervals as necessary, as part of an ongoing tax planning service.
Our partners are also able to act as executors and trustees of your Will.
Of equal importance is the preparation of Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) to ensure that if you should become frail or lose your mental capacity decisions regarding your finances can be made by an individual or individuals you trust to act in your best interest.
We often prepare Property and Financial Affairs LPAs (including a separate LPA to deal with your business interests) and Health and Welfare LPAs and arrange for their registration at the Office of the Public Guardian to give our clients the peace of mind of knowing that should anything happen to them, they will be cared for and their affairs administered by their chosen attorney(s).
Estate administration is the process of dealing with your assets, debts, and taxes following death.
We are experienced in all areas of probate, from simple matters where the deceased left a valid Will with few beneficiaries, to more complex matters, including obtaining grants of representation for the UK estate of individuals who lived abroad. Members of our Private Client team have obtained UK grants of probate and letters of administration for the estates of individuals who died in various foreign territories, including Italy, France, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Australia, South Africa, and the US, and we are familiar with managing the complexities of UK inheritance law alongside the legal frameworks and regulations of other countries.
We deal with the tax compliance elements of estate administration, including the preparation, filing and payment of IHT returns, advising on and ensuring that any available reliefs are claimed, including heritage property relief for works of art and chattels. Additionally, we assist with the management of any UK income tax and capital gains tax that may be payable by the personal representatives for UK Self-Assessment tax purposes. This includes advising on the tax implications of asset disposals, income generated by the estate, and ensuring that all relevant tax obligations are met in a timely and efficient manner.
From notifying relevant third parties of the death of the deceased, to making final distributions to beneficiaries, we can assist and advise on every step of the probate process, no matter how complex, to make what can be an emotional and difficult process as easy and stress-free as possible for our clients.
