Wills & Estate Planning

Whether you are planning a family, already have children or planning your retirement, it is essential to make a will. Doing so allows your assets (property, stocks, savings, etc) to be passed on to the people you love in a manner of your choosing and ensures that the value of your estate is not substantially reduced by inheritance taxes in your country of residence.

It is a common misconception that IHT only affects the rich. In fact, under UK inheritance tax law (IHT) any estate valued at over £325 000 (double for married couples) is liable to 40% IHT. Between the average value of property and savings, not to mention any stocks shares you may have, this means the majority of home-owners will likely be subject to IHT.

Imagine your assets are a big cake that's sliced up and distributed between your loved ones after you pass on. You want to control who gets each slice of the cake, how big their slice is and ensure that the slice that goes to the taxman is as small as possible.

For those that live and work internationally, it is even more important to a will in place. Working in one country, owning property in another and having dependents in a third can mean your estate may be subject to myriad of inheritance laws in numerous countries. For this reason it is a good idea to set up a will in every country where you own property and have your primary will in the country you are domiciled in for tax purposes.

The principal form of a will, a "Simple Will" leaves assets to another person or persons and will not protect assets from UK based IHT or protect your assets from claims for third parties e.g. a former spouse.

However, Estate Planning Wills, allow individuals to make much more detailed and complex provisions such as:

• You are free to decide how your assets are allocated
• Minimising IHT
• Ensuring your partner/children are provided for
• If you are divorced, being able to decide whether or not to leave anything to your former partner/spouse

To ensure the process of creating a will is as simple as possible, we've set-up an easy to use will-writing pack that can assist you in considering some of the decisions that you will have to make, e.g. appointing guardians for your children or dependants.