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Inheritance Planning
The Wills and Probate team at Blackstone Solicitors is here to help you protect your interests and to provide the all-important peace of mind that everything will be taken care of as you wish when you pass away. Planning ahead is essential, and we can assist you with every aspect of Inheritance planning. We have considerable experience in this area of law and can advise you throughout the process. We can also help with all the documentation to ensure you achieve everything you are hoping to through the choices you make.
Contact us today and we can talk you through our services and how we can help you and your family. Simply call us on 0345 901 0445 or complete our online enquiry form and a member of the team will give you a call back as soon as possible.
At Blackstone, we always aim to provide the best service possible. Meticulous in our approach, we will make sure everything is dealt with as you wish and will keep you updated throughout the legal process, ensuring that you always know of any developments.
“The service I received I could definitely say was well timed, accurate and has been done as quick as I could imagine.”
– Bahram 
Our Approach
We place huge emphasis on getting things done properly and efficiently. This is especially true when providing legal advice concerning inheritance planning; we have vast experience of the legal implications of mitigating the tax exposure of your estate, doing so comprehensively and ensuring all of the necessary provisions to protect you, your family and your estate are properly set out, fulfilling every aim and objective whatever your requirements may be.
Inheritance tax planning ensures more of your hard-earned money goes to your family when you die, rather than allowing 40% to be taken by the taxman. The proportion of families that pay IHT may be low, at under 5%, but rising property prices mean inheritance tax doesn’t just affect the very wealthy. The number of people paying IHT when their loved one dies, and the amount paid, have hit record highs. The total amount claimed by the taxman reached £5.4bn in the year to April 2019. The average tax bill was just under £180,000.
Regardless of the complexity of your estate, our solicitors have the experience and specialist knowledge to help you achieve an outcome that protects you and your loved ones. We will take the time to make sure you fully understand the options open to you.
We are 100% committed to ensuring each and every one of our clients receives the highest quality service and we will go the extra mile to ensure that you are happy with the results gained. We understand it can be particularly difficult to deal with matters relating to death and inheritance, and this is why our friendly and approachable team always take a sympathetic and understanding approach, ensuring that you receive the support you need.
We believe communication is of the utmost importance. We will therefore keep you updated as things develop and our solicitors will provide practical, straightforward legal advice so that you can be confident everything is progressing as you would like.
Why Legal Help Is Important
It is possible to reduce the amount due to the taxman upon your passing and there are a number of options available to you. Some are quite straightforward whereas others are more complex and will require expert legal advice.
- Making a Will can reduce your inheritance tax liability or even negate it completely.
- You can give money away. There are requirements that you live for seven years for there to be no tax liability but there is taper relief if you pass away earlier than this.
- Consider the way you own your home. Combining your tax threshold with your partner can mitigate the tax liability on the value of your home. The property must be left to your children or Grandchildren for this to apply.
- Make use of pensions. Pensions are one of the most tax-efficient ways to pass on your wealth. If you pass away before the age of 75, benefits left in a money purchase pension can be paid as a lump sum or drawdown income to any beneficiary, with no tax to pay. After the age of 75 they will be taxed at the beneficiaries’ marginal income tax rate.
- Trusts. By putting assets inside a trust, you reduce your wealth for the purposes of calculating inheritance tax when you die. However, you may instead face tax charges when setting up the trust, when property leaves the trust, and on certain anniversaries, on top of fees for trustees and legal costs. Setting up a trust can be complex and will require expert legal advice.
- Invest in assets that get inheritance tax relief. Certain investments will attract a reduced or even zero rate for inheritance tax purposes. These range from agricultural property to investments in start-up businesses. The rules are complicated, but normally you will need to have bought the asset at least two years, and possibly seven years, before you die.
- Take out life assurance. Life assurance can be used to either meet or reduce a prospective IHT bill. You set up a whole-of-life assurance policy, which lasts for as long as you live. As long as the policy is written in trust, the proceeds of the life assurance policy will not be included in your estate. When you die the policy pays out to the trust which pays all or part of the inheritance tax bill.
At Blackstone, we can help to ensure your inheritance planning achieves the outcome you are looking for. It is imperative that you seek expert legal advice to ensure the drafting of all documentation is correct and accurately reflects your wishes and address any complexities of your personal circumstances.
Our Services
We can provide help with a wide range of matters relating to wills and probate, including:
Get in Touch
Contact us today to discuss any matter relating to inheritance planning. We can talk about your situation in depth, the options open to you and get to the bottom of what you need and how we can help. We are here to answer any questions which you have, and we aim to make everything as simple for you as possible.
Our team is approachable and professional and we will do everything in our power to help you get the outcome you need. Call us on 0345 901 0445 or, if you would prefer us to contact you, leave your details via our online enquiry form.
We offer our services to clients in Manchester, Chester, Cheshire and throughout the rest of the UK. We also have an office in London.
