Estate Planning

Managing your financial affairs perhaps becomes most important as you start to think about passing on your wealth to your loved ones At Chase Financial Management we understand that you have worked hard to manage your finances efficiently and want to pass on the maximum benefit to your family, however, it is important to remember that this won’t happen automatically. If you do not plan for what happens to your assets after you die, you cannot be guaranteed that your wishes will be carried out. Poor planning can also lead to significant inheritance tax (IHT) implications for those you leave behind. Whether you’re looking to create or update your will, set up trusts or develop a family office we can help make sure that you have the most tax efficient structure in place to meet your unique needs and to help you create a legacy for future generations.

Wills are the foundation of all estate planning solutions. Nearly all of us at some point have probably thought about making a will, yet only 30% of the population have done so, presuming that this is something they can do as they get older. To ensure that your wishes are carried about after your death it is imperative that you have a Will in place that outlines how you would like your estate to be distributed.

A Lasting Powers of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that enables you (The Donor) to chose someone (The Attorney) to make decisions on your behalf about such things as your finances, property and personal welfare and a time in the future when you become physically or mentally incapable to deal with those affairs. Their are 2 types of lasting powers of Attorney, Property and Finance and Health and Welfare, and anyone can register them as long as they are over 18 years of age and have mental capacity to be able to understand the meaning and the effects of the LPA.

Inheritance Tax (IHT) is currently paid on assets in your estate over the current Nil Rate Band of £325,000. Any assets held above £325,000 will be taxed at 40% and this tax will need to be paid to HMRC prior to the assets in the estate being released to the beneficiaries. If you hold assets jointly with your spouse you currently have a joint Nil Rate Band of £650,000 and are able to pass on your assets and Nil Rate Band to your spouse on first death.

The Government recently announced that the nil rate band would gradually be increased over the next 4 years so by April 2021 the Nil Rate Band would be £500,000, by introducing the Residential Nil Rate Band.

It has often been said that IHT is an avoidable tax because with financial planning you are able to mitigate your beneficiaries paying the tax by gifting money, using trusts or life assurance products to reduce the value of your estate.

IHT can be a complex area within financial planning and therefore it is important that you seek financial advice. Fairstone are not tax advisers and specialist tax advice should be sought.”

A trust is a way of managing assets (money, investments, land or buildings) for people outside of their own personal estates. There are different types of trusts and they are taxed differently. Trusts involve a settlor’ (the person who puts assets into a trust), trustees (the person who manages the trust) and beneficiaries (the person who benefits from the trust) Trusts are set up for a number of reasons. These include the control and protection of family assets when someone’s too young to handle their affairs or can’t handle their affairs because they’re incapacitated. One of the main reasons financial planners use Trust is because Donors are able to transfer money out of their estate but still have control over them.

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