Tips for successful estate planning

When it comes to successful estate planning, the earlier you plan the more options are available to you. It’s important to decide what you want to achieve, and who you want to benefit from your estate immediately and further down the line. You’ll need to consider your business, personal assets, pensions and any life assurance you may have. It’s important to seek advice on what to do now and also in the future as tax legislation changes every year.

There are a few quick steps that can initially be taken to immediately help reduce your Estate and also distribute some of your assets to those who you want to benefit. You could:

• Leave lump sum benefits into trust.
• Utilise pension funds as they are usually paid out IHT free.
• Write any existing life cover policies into trust.
• Use a deed of variation, which allows a beneficiary of a recent inheritance to change the Will in order to pass money to other people or into trust.