The answer is structured lifetime giving, whether to family members outright or to a trust established to preserve the funds for future generations. This, combined with sound Will planning. 

Lifetime giving has its own challenges.  On the one hand proposed gifts are driven by a desire to help out younger members of the family or to save tax.  This must be offset by the need for the donor to maintain their standard of living for the remainder of their lifetime. 

Once an asset has gone, it's gone for good. Lifetime giving can reduce the amount of inheritance tax (IHT) that would be due on your death.  However, they can trigger an inadvertent capital gains tax (CGT) charge.  Both taxes must be looked at to ensure that the potential IHT saving is not cancelled out by a large CGT bill. 

There are also rules in place to limit the value that can be placed into a trust by way of a lifetime gift before IHT becomes payable.  You can rest assured that we'll guide you through the complex tax regime with inheritance tax advice based on years of experience.

Good inheritance tax advice can also reduce the amount of inheritance tax (IHT) that is payable when assets pass to your family on your death. Everyone has a nil rate band - this is the amount they can leave free of IHT.  Currently, it is £325,000 and usually goes up each year.  Married couples or those in a civil partnership can collectively leave up to £650,000 worth of assets free of IHT on the death of the survivor of them.  The rate of tax on the excess is a flat rate of 40%.

We can advise and implement a strategy to reduce the amount of IHT that would otherwise be payable.  It's important when looking at IHT planning to make sure the planning works in the real world and that the financial security of a spouse / civil partner is not jeopardised. 

Strategies include:

• Making full use of the available exemptions and reliefs such as the £3,000 annual exemption and business and agricultural property relief.  Business and agricultural property relief works by reducing the value of any qualifying assets by 50% or 100%, and so can be a complete exemptionadvise on the preservation of business and agricultural property relief.
• Advise on the issues surrounding a partnership interest or shareholding in a private company that need to be addressed.
• Creating bespoke IHT planning arrangements working alongside your existing advisors.
• Advise on the creation of trust funds to protect your assets for young or vulnerable beneficiaries.
• Draft trust documentation and advise on the administration of the trust.  We can also act as trustees if that is helpful including trust arrangements when you are making a Will to protect children of a former marriage or to protect assets against Local Authority assessment for care fees.
• Advise on and draft trust arrangements over death in service benefits.

Why use Access Legal from Shoosmiths?

We have a large team of specialists who have extensive experience of providing inheritance tax advice, and we're used to working with other professionals, such as accountants and financial planners / advisors, to ensure clients get rounded advice.

Our specialists are also members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), a dedicated organisation for private client professionals. STEP membership is seen as a quality mark.

Important things to consider

• is your Will up to date?
• do you need to look at inheritance tax planning?
• do you have a partnership interest or family company?
• do you know what will happen to your interests in that partnership / company on your death?
• are you in a second marriage with children from previous relationships?
• do you have young children whose inheritance should be looked after for them until they reach an age at which they would be able to manage it themselves?
• do you have children with physical / mental disabilities?
• do you have a dependant relative you need to provide for?

What do I do next?

Contact us on 03700 86 86 86 to arrange a free, preliminary, no obligation meeting, so we can discuss ways to help you.

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