Wills & succession planning

Wills Solicitors

Creating a will can seem like a daunting prospect, raising questions of mortality that you may prefer not to contemplate. However, it is one of the most significant things you can do to provide for your loved ones beyond your lifetime. Without an up to date and well-drafted will, you are at risk of the distribution of your estate not reflecting your true wishes. Whether your circumstances and wishes are relatively straightforward or more complex, you need a trusted adviser to support you to prepare a tax-efficient will and to document precisely how you would like your assets to be managed on death.

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Introduction

Services

Make an enquiry Protecting your wishes beyond your lifetime

Our wills solicitors have the expertise to guide you through the process of making and updating your will, providing you with advice that is tailored to your unique circumstances. Many of our clients have complicated personal affairs which could include being domiciled abroad, holding assets in multiple jurisdictions or wanting to protect wealth through multiple generations.

We gain a holistic understanding of the complexities of your life. This allows us to provide you with the certainty that your plans have been set out exactly as you would wish.

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Services

We support our clients with individually tailored legal advice, in areas such as:

Will drafting and storage.
Will updates.
Codicils.
Wealth distribution.
Inheritance tax.
Lifetime estate planning.
Wills for business owners.
Multi-jurisdictional estates.
Lasting Power of Attorney.
Business Lasting Power of Attorney.
Trusts.
Legacies and gifts.
Mirror wills.

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Wills & succession planning key contacts

Peter
Daniel
Partner - Head of Private Wealth
Talk to Peter about International trusts, tax & estate planning, Probate, UK trusts, tax & estate planning and US/UK Tax & estate planning

An age of apathy?

A will remains the most effective way to divide assets and provide for those close to us on death. So, why don’t more people under 50 have one?

Read our report

Coronavirus: Tips for private clients

We have put together a helpful list of the important tax and estate planning tips you should be thinking about during, and in the aftermath of, the Coronavirus pandemic.

Download Coronavirus tips for private clients

Read our guide for business owners on protecting your business against incapacity.

A Question of Capacity: a guide for businesses

Our guide, A Question of Capacity, outlines key points for consideration to ensure you, as a business owner, can put your business in the best position possible in the event of your incapacity.

Find out more

Recent experience

We advise clients who own businesses on how best to structure their will so as to make use of business property relief in passing assets down to future generations. A will trust to hold business assets is often flexible and tax-efficient, whether the intention is that the business continues to be owned and run by the family, or the business will be sold.
WILLS AND SUCCESSION PLANNING
wills for business owners
Case study
We advise clients who own businesses on how best to structure their will so as to make use of business property relief in passing assets down to future generations. A will trust to hold business assets is often flexible and tax-efficient, whether the intention is that the business continues to be owned and run by the family, or the business will be sold.
Read more
Wealthy clients often hold assets in a number of jurisdictions, meaning that consideration must be given to the local laws that govern both succession and tax. In some cases, this means coordinating the preparation of a separate will in each jurisdiction rather than one global will. The client’s focus may also be on protecting assets for future generations, and we can ensure that this is done in a way which works in every relevant jurisdiction.
WILLS AND SUCCESSION PLANNING
Assets in multiple jurisdictions
Case study
Wealthy clients often hold assets in a number of jurisdictions, meaning that consideration must be given to the local laws that govern both succession and tax. In some cases, this means coordinating the preparation of a separate will in each jurisdiction rather than one global will. The client’s focus may also be on protecting assets for future generations, and we can ensure that this is done in a way which works in every relevant jurisdiction.
Read more
We regularly advise married couples where one spouse is a US citizen. Often the careful use of will trusts can ensure that there is no tax on either side of the Atlantic on the first death, and that tax is mitigated when assets pass to the next generation. We work with American advisers to prepare wills which achieve optimum efficiency in both the UK and US.
WILLS AND SUCCESSION PLANNING
US/UK marriages
Case study
We regularly advise married couples where one spouse is a US citizen. Often the careful use of will trusts can ensure that there is no tax on either side of the Atlantic on the first death, and that tax is mitigated when assets pass to the next generation. We work with American advisers to prepare wills which achieve optimum efficiency in both the UK and US.
Read more