Estate Planning Services
Our team at Bevan Buckland can assist you in Estate Planning with a personalised plan unique to your needs. We believe in the importance of sensible estate planning that starts early in life.
Do you need a will?
If you own any form of property – a home, car, investments, or business interests – having a well-thought-out will is practical. Ensure your assets are distributed as you intend, avoiding the uncertainties of intestacy laws.
If your estate exceeds £325,000, it could be subject to inheritance tax (IHT) and understanding and managing potential liabilities becomes crucial. Even if your estate falls below this threshold, strategic planning and a carefully drafted will can ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes.
Making your estate plan
Starting your estate plan may feel daunting, so begin by answering the following questions:
Who
Who do you want to benefit from your wealth?
What do you need to provide for your spouse or civil partner?
Should your children share equally in your estate?
Do you wish to include grandchildren?
Would you like to give to charity?
What
Should your business pass only to those children who have become involved in it? Should you compensate the others with assets of comparable value?
When
Consider the age and maturity of your beneficiaries:
Should assets be placed into a trust restricting access to income or capital?
Or should gifts wait until your death?
Estate Planning Services
Strategies to minimise inheritance tax liabilities and ensure tax-efficient wealth transfer.
Assistance with creating, managing, and administrating trusts for family wealth protection and tax planning.
Advice on lifetime gifts to reduce estate value and potential IHT, including the use of annual exemptions.
Structuring and advising on the transfer of wealth to future generations in a tax-efficient manner.
Maximising tax benefits from charitable donations through gift aid, legacy donations, or charitable trusts.
Utilising IHT Exemptions
If your estate exceeds £325,000, it could be subject to inheritance tax (IHT) and understanding and managing potential liabilities becomes crucial. Even if your estate falls below this threshold, strategic planning and a carefully drafted will can ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes.
Explore tax-efficient options for business assets and appreciate assets. Gifts don’t have to be in cash; consider assets with potential value growth. Regular gifts out of income into an insurance policy can build capital outside your estate, saving on IHT.
There will be no capital gains tax (CGT) and perhaps little or no IHT to pay if you retain business property until your death – this is fine, so long as you wish to continue to hold your business interests until death and recognise that the rules may change.
Alternatively, you can hand your business over to the next generation. A gift of business property today will probably qualify for up to 100% IHT relief. Any capital gain can be rolled over to the new owner, so there will be no CGT liability.
Gifts do not have to be in cash. You could save more IHT or CGT by giving away assets with the potential for value growth. Give while the asset has a lower value so that the appreciation accrues outside your estate.
Another way to build up capital outside your estate and save IHT is to make regular gifts out of income, through premiums, into an insurance policy written in trust for your heirs. Regular payments of this type are exempt from IHT.
Most property transfers between spouses or civil partners are exempt from IHT; this means that when one partner dies, leaving some or all of their property to their spouse/civil partner, they may not make full use of their own £325,000 nil-rate band. In these circumstances, it is possible to transfer unused nil-rate band allowances between spouses or civil partners.
The amount of the nil-rate band potentially available for transfer will be based on the proportion of unused nil-rate bands when the first spouse or civil partner dies.
For example, if on the first death, the chargeable estate is £162,500 and the nil-rate band was £325,000, 50% of the original nil-rate band is unused. If the nil-rate band when the surviving spouse dies is £325,000, then that would be increased by 50% to £487,500.
Different circumstances
Estate Planning for Singles:
Even if you’re single, estate planning is essential. A well-drawn will ensures that your preferences for funeral arrangements and the devolution of your estate are respected.
Estate Planning for Grandparents:
Consider leaving assets to grandchildren or reducing your taxable estate by supporting them during their education. Strategic planning can minimise IHT on their inheritances.
The Power of a Well-Drafted Will
A properly drawn will is a practical planning tool, enabling you to protect your family, minimise taxes, name trusted guardians, and establish trusts for beneficiaries. It provides peace of mind, and its flexibility allows adjustments even two years after your passing if agreed upon by concerned parties.
Secure your legacy with Bevan Buckland LLP – where sensible estate planning meets peace of mind. Contact us today to start your journey towards a secure financial future.
