Estate Planning Service

Common Estate Planning Questions

• What does an estate planning service include?

  Our estate planning service includes a comprehensive review of all your financial and personal circumstances in order to determine what strategies should be put in place to ensure that your estate is managed as efficiently as possible.

  We provide a variety of services such as:

  Making an effective will spelling out how you want your assets distributed upon death and who will care for your minor children.

  Setting up a tax efficient trust to control what happens with your assets long after you’re gone.

  Lifetime giving – contributing financial resources to your loved ones or charities close to your heart while reducing potential inheritance taxes from your estate.

  Setting up powers of attorney to designate someone else to manage your affairs if you become incapacitated or unable to make decisions on your own behalf due to illness or injury.

  Inheritance tax planning
  Implementing tax strategies
  Planning for care home fees
  International estate planning
  and more.

• Why should you consider estate planning?

  By creating a comprehensive estate plan, you can ensure that your hard work is not diminished due to the burden of inheritance taxes. You will be able to provide security for loved ones and maximize their potential inheritances from your legacy.

  However, estate planning is not just about ensuring a smooth transition of your assets when you pass away; rather, it is an opportunity to maximize the value of what you have today.

  It is more than a monetary arrangement, it is an opportunity to make a lasting impression for the people or causes that are important in life. By securing safety for your loved ones, or giving back in support of an organization dear to your heart, you preserve values alongside personal legacies.

• Can estate planning help reduce taxes?

  Yes, estate planning can help reduce taxes.

  With careful consideration and thoughtful advice from our lawyers, you will be able to create an estate plan that minimizes any potential taxes while still providing you with peace of mind knowing that your wealth will be passed along according to your wishes.

  We use various strategies such as gifting assets, creating trusts, and taking advantage of tax exemptions to reduce the overall tax burden or pass along assets and wealth to designated beneficiaries in a tax-efficient manner.

  For example, if you live in the UK and have a large estate consisting mainly of investments such as stocks and shares, an inheritance tax may be due when you die. We can therefore set up a trust fund which will allow for some of the money to pass to your beneficiaries without being liable for inheritance tax.

• I have foreign assets; can you advise on them?

  Going global with your estate planning? Make sure to let us know if you own property outside of the country. Our lawyers are well-equipped to provide all the necessary counsel on how estate taxes may affect your foreign property and if a treaty exists to potentially lower those fees.

  For instance, when establishing a will, the complexity of your situation must be carefully assessed. Depending on which assets are located in foreign countries, it may be prudent to create two separate wills. With coordinated, professionally drafted wills in place you can be assured that your wishes are respected both domestically and abroad.