Inheritance Tax Planning is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Inheritance tax is applied to the estate of an individual when they die. It may also be charged on certain gifts and transfers made during the individual’s lifetime.

The main point is that gifts other than those covered by annual allowances, need to be out of the individual’s estate for seven years before they are free from inheritance tax.

Therefore, this means that planning is crucial.

On death

On death, the value of the deceased’s estate will be subject to IHT. The first
£325,000 is said to be within the nil-rate band and will be subject to an IHT
rate of 0%. The balance will be subject to the standard rate of 40%.

In the event of the death of a spouse or civil partner, their unused nil rate band
can be transferred to their surviving partner for use on their death. The amount
available will be the proportion of the unused nil rate band on the first death.

During life

Effective IHT planning takes place while the individual is still alive, through the
prudent use of a number of exemptions and allowances.

Pensions for IHT Planning

Personal pensions can be arranged to mitigate inheritance tax.

Make sure you Wealth and Assets go to the right people.

Estate Planning
Process ensuring that your assets are passed to the correct people

Inheritance Tax (IHT) planning
Reduce/mitigate the inheritance tax paid on death

Trust Planning
Trusts can assist to make sure your carefully arranged financial plans go the way you intended them to.

Wills
This is essential, in that if you die intestate (without a valid Will) your assets may not pass to the right individuals. A Will, is you legally stating who you would like your wealth/assets to pass on to.

Power of Attorney
Sets out someone’s wishes for what should happen when they die by giving somebody the power to act on your behalf if you lose mental capacity.

Funeral Plans
Funeral cost and highlighting your wishes.

Trust is Key – and you will get

• Fixed costs (no hidden surprises)
• 24/7 access to your case and any milestones
• Regular updates by phone and/or in writing from our friendly staff
• The peace of mind that comes with choosing a solicitor with Conveyancing Association and The Law Society accreditation

Buying or selling a property is regarded as ‘one of the most stressful things we do’ in life. The last thing you want then is to have the situation made even more taxing by an inexperienced conveyancer. But the solicitors we recommend come with 30 years in the conveyancing game, there aren’t many things we haven’t experienced and successfully overcome! This is recognised by our CQS accreditation and CA membership.

Whether you are buying or selling a property, or even doing both, the team of solicitors and legal experts are here to make your conveyancing experience run smoothly and efficiently.

The Process of Buying a House

While every step of the buying process is vital, there are four key areas that you need to know about and understand – because they involve you…

The Contract
The contract is the formal agreement between you and the seller. Once your offer is accepted and the sale has been agreed, the seller’s solicitor prepares the contract and sends it to us. We will then send the contract, with all the information about the property, to you to sign. You should sign it as soon as you receive it and immediately return it to us so it does not cause any unnecessary delays.

The Mortgage Offer
Meanwhile, as the contract is being prepared, you’ll be sorting out your mortgage. Once agreed, your lender will send through your mortgage offer to us and we will send on to you to sign. As with the contract, please sign as soon as you receive it and send it back to us.

Prior to your mortgage offer, your lender will carry out a valuation of the property to make sure they aren’t lending more money than the property is worth. The documents we send you, alongside your mortgage offer will include details of additional surveys and valuations you may wish to carry out on your intended property. These include a Home Buyers Report and a Structural Survey. These surveys are not compulsory but we advise you obtain one of these as they provide you with extra security of the purchase of the property.

Exchange of Contracts
This is the exciting bit because by exchanging contracts you are confirming your purchase. Prior to this, either party can withdraw from the transaction.

Naturally, we will make sure that everything is ready and in place and that you are happy before we exchange contracts. In the meantime we will be asking the seller’s solicitors for any further details we need, including, for example, copies of missing documents. It is important to note that we cannot exchange contracts for you until we are satisfied that everything is in order. Please therefore do not book any time off work or arrange removals until we tell you it is alright to do so.

At this stage, we will be ready to exchange contracts with your seller’s solicitor and both you and the seller will be committed to the sale. It is only then that you will agree a completion date, when you will be able to move in.

Completion
Make sure everything is packed up and the removal van is booked because come your completion date, it’s time to move in. Then the only complication you’ll have is finding the time to unpack everything!

Please Note:-
Conveyancing is available by referral.

Making a Will is one of the most important things you’ll ever do. We spend our lives looking after our loved ones so why wouldn’t we want to make sure they’re protected when we’re no longer here?

Making a Will is, understandably, one of those things we all tend to put off. However it really is something everyone needs to do in order to

• Safeguard your loved ones
• Say where your money and assets are to go
• Save your loved ones from more stress

Write a will, if it’s the last thing you do

There are a number of simple ways to communicate the importance of having an up-to-date will. Put it this way – if you die intestate, your assets will be distributed according to the law, which could be very different to your wishes.

If your living with a partner but not married to them and have no children, for instance, then your parents or other family members may inherit, not your partner.

Similarly, if you have no spouse, children, parents, siblings or other close relatives, the Government could take all the estate. Your may prefer friends or favourite charity benefit from their assets. Without a will, this is not possible.

Many people are under the belief that their loved ones will automatically inherit what they would have wanted or expected. However without a Will our loved ones, including partners, children and grandchildren, can be left vulnerable and unprotected.

If a person dies without a Will, their assets are inherited under the rules of intestacy. Under these rules children and grandchildren would not inherit anything if you were a) married and b) had assets that amounted to less than £250,000. This could cause potential conflict especially if you had children from a previous relationship.

Alternatively an unmarried partner has no right to an inheritance; your children, grandchildren, parents even the government would inherit your estate ahead of your partner. Their only hope would be to make a claim against your estate – which could, in reality, be a claim against their own children!

Why not contact us or call us and book an appointment to speak to the experts

Please Note:-
Wills are available by referral.