Protecting
Your Inheritance:
The Big Questions
New clients come to our Asset &
Wealth Protection team at particular
stages in their lives. Most of the time
it is good news: the birth of a child or
grandchild, a new property, starting
up a business or taking capital out.
Sometimes it will be less positive: the
loss of a loved one, a bad experience
with another estate or coming to terms
with caring for a relative.
Whatever the trigger point, the way
we respond as lawyers is often not
what clients expect: we ask very broad
questions such as ‘What are you trying
to achieve?’ or ‘Where would you like
your assets to be when you are gone?’
At least part of our role is to help
our clients to see what we can do for
them as ongoing, flexible or “living”
advice. The tendency for others is
to focus on what actual document
they might produce, be that a Will, a
family Trust or a Power of Attorney.
We take the view that the answers to
the overarching questions are key to
ensuring that the actual documents
have the right long term effect. As
just one example, the advice we give
about Wills is often dependent on
knowing about our client’s assets
which do not pass through their Wills
at all. These could include a pension
lump sum, the proceeds of a life policy
or an employee’s Death in Service
benefit, which are commonly outside
the Will (and often free of Inheritance
Tax). Clients with shares in their own
company, say, will also need to know
how their company provides for those
shares to pass on their death.
Focusing on one individual aspect
can obscure the big questions. A Will
is unique: in it we can determine the
transfer of all our tangible assets in
one fell swoop, but it is really only
one aspect of the wider process of
protecting our family’s wealth and
prosperity in the immediate and long
term. The best way of achieving that
protection will vary from client to client,
but the advice we give will often have
much in common since we do have to
start with the big questions: what are
you trying to do or where do you want
to get to? If you are prepared for these
questions, we will be able to help you
get to where you want to be.
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