Quantify the likely liability first, then look at options — in that order.
Start with the cost of doing nothing
Inheritance tax planning goes wrong when it starts with a product. It should start with a number: what the liability would be today, on current rules, if nothing changed. Often that number is smaller than feared and the right answer is to do very little. When it is large, the options involve real trade-offs — most mean giving up access to money or control over it, and most take years to become effective. The cost of doing nothing comes before any recommendation.
Typical matters
Who we act for
People whose estate has grown largely through property, families wanting to help the next generation without impoverishing themselves, business and agricultural owners whose reliefs need checking rather than assuming, and executors facing a liability that has already crystallised.
Speak to an adviserIn more detail
The useful starting point is a number: what the liability would be today, under current rules, if nothing changed. It takes an hour to establish and it reframes the entire conversation.
Sometimes it confirms a real problem worth acting on. Just as often it shows the available allowances already cover most or all of the estate, and the sensible course is to do very little — keeping access to your own money, which is worth a great deal more than most people credit when they are being sold a solution.
The routes that reduce an inheritance tax liability almost all work by removing value from the estate. Outright gifts are simple and effective, and they are also gone: if circumstances change, the money cannot come back. Trusts retain a degree of control but bring cost, administration and their own tax treatment. Investment-based reliefs carry investment risk, often in smaller and less liquid companies.
There is no arrangement that reduces the liability while leaving you in exactly the same position. Any proposal that appears to has a cost that has not been explained yet. The right question is not "what does this save?" but "what am I giving up, and can I afford to?"
Gifting is the most straightforward route and the most misunderstood. Some gifts are immediately outside the estate; many only become fully effective after a period of years, with the benefit tapering in the meantime. Giving something away while continuing to benefit from it generally does not work at all, which catches out a great many well-meant arrangements involving the family home.
The practical consequence is that time is itself a planning asset. Starting this conversation at seventy leaves options that starting it at eighty-five does not.
Quantifying the liability, working out what can safely be given away, and advising on investment-based routes is financial advice and falls within what an authorised firm does. Drafting a will, a deed of variation or a trust is legal work, and it belongs with a solicitor.
The two need to be coordinated, because a plan and a will that contradict each other produce the worst of both. But they are different disciplines, and anyone offering to do all of it should be asked which parts they are regulated for.
Before we speak
Enough to calculate the position as it stands today. The calculation comes before any discussion of what to do about it, and sometimes it is the end of the conversation rather than the start.
If you have none of it
People often delay a first conversation until they have assembled a file. That delay costs more than the missing paperwork does. Tell us what you know, and we will work out what needs finding — and in what order.
Speak to an adviserPlain English
The words that turn up in this area, written for people who are not lawyers — because that is who has to make the decisions.
Common questions
Many do not. It depends on the value of the estate, the allowances available to you, and how assets are held. The calculation is quick and worth doing before assuming either way.
Generally not in a way that works for inheritance tax, if you continue to benefit from it rent-free. This is one of the most common well-intentioned arrangements that fails, and it is worth taking advice before rather than after.
It varies by the type of gift. Some are immediately outside the estate; others take a period of years, with the benefit increasing over time. The rules change, so the position should be checked when the gift is made rather than relying on what was true previously.
Sometimes, where retaining control matters — for younger beneficiaries, or where circumstances could change. They bring cost, administration and their own tax treatment, so they should be chosen for a reason rather than by default.
Specific reliefs can apply, and they have conditions that need checking rather than assuming. Businesses change over time in ways that can affect whether a relief is still available, so this is worth reviewing periodically.
No. Will drafting is not regulated by the FCA and is referred to a solicitor. We work alongside them so the financial plan and the will say the same thing.
Important
Inheritance tax planning usually involves giving up access to money or control over it. Some arrangements take years to become effective and cannot easily be reversed.
Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in future. Statements here describe the rules as they generally apply, not advice on your position.
Will writing, trust drafting and powers of attorney are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Where a matter needs a solicitor we say so and refer it.
How it works
A call at our cost to understand what you are trying to do and tell you plainly whether we can help. Sometimes the honest answer is that you do not need advice at all, or not yet — and we would rather say that than bill you for finding out slowly.
Before any work starts you get the scope, the approach, who will do the work and what it will cost, in writing. Independence means we are paid by you rather than by a provider, and you should be able to see exactly what you are paying and for what.
A written recommendation you can read, question and keep, setting out what we suggest and why — including the options we rejected. Then a review at agreed points, testing the plan against what actually happened rather than restating it.
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