These two subjects, although not always related, are often bracketed together.
We prepare all sorts of Wills from the very straightforward to the very complex. Our Will drafters have decades of experience and also, importantly, all do probate work as well as we feel it important that anyone drafting a Will also knows how they are administered when death occurs. For instance, we regularly prepare Wills with asset protection angles when potential beneficiaries have issues with divorce, care fees, mental or physical disability or just poor money handling skills.
Being a firm of solicitors we also bring the peace of mind of being a properly regulated and insured provider of Will drafting services. Increasingly, despite families and taxation becoming ever more complex, Wills are being drawn by uninsured and inexperienced Will drafters. We very much aim to buck that trend.
Importantly, for both Will drafting and Tax Planning, we also have a large Trust administration practice as it is again important that a Will drafter has practical experience of the impact of the documents they draw.
Tax Planning covers a wide variety of taxes, mainly those known as ‘capital taxes’ (ie, Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Stamp Duty Land Tax). We have expertise in our taxes as well but in tax work it is always important all your advisors (accountants, land agents, stockbrokers, financial and pension advisors) work together to ensure nothing gets missed and we pride ourselves on collaborative working with a client’s other advisors.
One final important point about our tax planning services: we are well aware of all our statutory obligations in relation to the tax code and other matters such as money laundering and proceeds of crime legislation. We are always willing to assist legitimate tax avoidance utilising the allowances, reliefs and opportunities the law currently affords.
We will not, however, assist with illegitimate or very borderline legitimate tax reduction schemes.
As a firm that acts mainly for wealthy clients with tax or other complex issues, we do very few “basic Wills” and we do not often get asked to quote for basic Wills. Basic Wills start from £150 plus VAT upwards, but if price is the main determining factor for a potential client wishing to draw the one document in their life that purports to deal with all their assets, then we believe that there are other firms who could probably draft a Will more cheaply than we would