The modern private client adviser needs to have a broad understanding across the disciplines of law, tax and investment. Nowhere is this range of expertise better demonstrated than in the field of estate planning.

Estate planning is process of structuring your affairs so your financial objectives continue to be met both during and after your life. For many people this means protecting their family and devolving their wealth in accordance with their wishes. Objectives and wishes evolve over time, and for this reason estate planning is always an integral part of our regular review process.

Tax efficient structuring of client affairs is often an important objective for clients. Inheritance tax planning does not have to involve complex structures. Much can be achieved with simple and carefully thought-out planning if considered at any early enough stage. The ability to make unlimited gifts that escape the inheritance tax net after seven years is a very valuable concession. Gifts into trusts, although limited to the nil rate band (£325,000 for 2009/10) since 2006, remain an effective strategy for clients who wish to receive the IHT savings of a gift but do not wish to provide their beneficiaries unconditional access to the gifted assets or monies. It is also possible to make use of trust structures that provide some form of ongoing access to capital or an income for the donor. These structures provide the ideal solution for those clients who wish to save tax yet are also wary of losing access to all their capital.

It is imperative that specialist advice is sought to ensure that any planning does not infringe the gift with reservation of benefit (GWR) or pre-owned assets (POA) rules. These rules have been enacted to prevent people giving away their assets whilst retaining some form of ongoing access to the assets.

These specialist solutions often involve an integral element of FSA regulated advice, and therefore few tax professionals are in a position to offer advice on these structures. Collins Ward have invested considerable time and resources evaluating the available structures and have developed a keen understanding of the most effective and suitable options. You can read more about these solutions in the Articles section of the Resources page.

It is very rare that there is one piece of planning which will solve all your estate planning needs. What is needed is an estate plan which takes an all-round view of your affairs. This is why estate planning and inheritance tax mitigation are core components of our wealth management service.

Collins Ward are happy to work with your existing legal and tax advisers to create a coherent estate plan, or we can recommend specialists who we already work closely with.