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Efficient inheritance tax planning can significantly reduce the tax burden on your estate when you pass away. This can then ensure the people you want to provide for see the maximum benefit possible when the time comes. Our inheritance tax planning lawyers can help you put in place the right measures now to protect your assets later.
Whether you have specific people you need to provide for or simply wish to make sure your estate is as tax-efficient as possible, we can assist you. Using our many years of experience, you can have full confidence that everything is taken care of.
Please note that while we are very happy to assist with the legal aspects of planning for inheritance tax, we cannot offer tax advice. However, we will be happy to recommend trusted tax advisors whom we can work seamlessly with to help you execute your plans.
Looking for more information? Please take a look at our inheritance tax planning FAQs.
To discuss how our inheritance lawyers can help you, please contact us on 01689 887840 or fill in our enquiry form.
Our inheritance tax planning solicitors can assist with…
- Making tax-efficient Wills
- Lifetime gifts
- Setting up and administering trusts
- Using deeds of variation to transfer inherited assets to others
- Bequests to charity
Our expertise with inheritance tax advice
Our Wills and Estate team support a wide range of clients with carefully tailored inheritance tax planning advice, including where clients have substantial and complex assets to consider. We are based in Orpington and work with clients in London, Kent and across the South East.
Across our team, we have many decades of combined experience, so we can offer reassurance that we know exactly how to handle a wide range of different scenarios. We will always explain your options in plain English so you can make informed decisions about how to proceed.
Our team includes various members and associate members of the prestigious Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), recognising the high-level expertise we offer.
Our inheritance tax planning advice fees
Our pricing is based on the expertise we offer and the value we deliver for our clients. We will be happy to provide a clear cost estimate with no hidden fees or charges.
For matters relating to inheritance tax planning, such as making a Will or setting up a trust, we can typically offer fixed fees, giving you certainty over your legal costs.
How our tax planning solicitors can help you
Making tax-efficient Wills
When making your Will, it is important to understand how your estate’s potential inheritance tax bill may be affected based on who you choose to inherit. Our inheritance tax lawyers can support you in making a Will that is aligned with your tax planning, ensuring that your assets go to the people you intend.
Lifetime gifts
When making a gift, it is important to understand that any funds or other assets you gift could still potentially be considered as part of your estate for tax purposes for the next seven years. However, there are various ways you can make gifts during your lifetime that can allow you to avoid this restriction.
Our experts can assist with lifetime gifting options, including using your annual allowance (which everyone has), making gifts from any ‘excess income’, making gifts for weddings and civil partnerships and Potentially Exempt Transfers (PETs).
Setting up and administering trusts
Trusts can be a tax efficient way of holding assets as well as offering a way to ensure particular people will be provided for long-term, e.g. if they are vulnerable and unable to provide for themselves.
Our tax planning solicitors can assist with choosing the right sort of trust for your requirements, then set up the trust and act as professional trustees where appropriate. We can also support those acting as trustees and provide advice for trust beneficiaries.
Using Deeds of Variation to transfer inherited assets to others
If you have received an inheritance, a Deed of Variation can be used to transfer some or all of what you have inherited to another person. This can sometimes be used to make the way the estate is distributed more tax-efficient.
Our inheritance lawyers can assist with drafting and executing Deeds of Variation so that assets can be transferred safely and effectively.
Bequests to charity
Leaving at least 10% of your estate to a registered charity can reduce the rate of inheritance tax payable on your estate. We can assist with making charitable bequests in your Will, drafting your Will in such a way that this 10% requirement will be met.
Inheritance tax planning FAQs
What is inheritance tax planning?
Inheritance tax planning refers to the process of legally reducing how much inheritance tax will need to be paid on your estate when you pass away. There are various measures you can use when planning for inheritance tax, some of the most common of which are covered above.
How do I plan for inheritance tax?
If your goal is to reduce the inheritance tax burden on your estate, then you will usually need to consult both a professional tax advisor and an inheritance tax lawyer.
The tax advisor can provide advice on which options you can use to reduce your estate’s inheritance tax liability, while a lawyer will help with the legal aspects of facilitating your tax planning, such as making a tax-efficient Will or setting up a trust.
Getting the right inheritance tax advice from a trusted professional can significantly reduce the future tax bill on your estate, while working with a reliable legal expert can ensure that your planning is legally sound and minimise the risk of any future problems.
What is the UK inheritance tax allowance?
The UK inheritance tax allowance is the value of an estate on which no inheritance tax will be due. The exact rate will depend on the circumstances.
There is a general tax threshold of £325,000 (which is referred to as the nil rate band). This allowance is available to everyone.
There is also an additional threshold of a maximum of £175,000 (which is referred to as the residence nil rate band). To be eligible for the residence nil rate band, you will need to leave your residence to your direct descendants, i.e. your children or grandchildren. The combined allowances will give your estate a tax threshold of up to £500,000 (this information is correct as of June 2024).
There will usually be no inheritance tax to pay if you leave your entire estate to your spouse, civil partner, a charity or a recognised community amateur sports club.
What is the nil rate band on inheritance tax?
The nil rate band refers to the amount of an estate that is exempt from inheritance tax (as covered in the question above). An important point to note is that if a person is survived by a spouse or civil partner and they have left their assets to them, then any unused portion of their nil rate band can be transferred to that surviving spouse or civil partner.
How can I reduce my inheritance tax?
The way in which you can reduce your inheritance tax liability will depend on your circumstances. While we have covered some of the most commonly used options above, you should always seek expert advice on inheritance tax planning for your particular circumstances.
Speak to our inheritance tax planning solicitors in Orpington, Kent
Our team will be happy to provide expert support with the legal aspects of inheritance tax planning, such as making a tax-efficient Will and setting up trusts.
To discuss how our inheritance tax planning advice can benefit you, please contact us on 01689 887840 or fill in our enquiry form.