Protecting Your Estate
HMRC’s National Statistics (October 2024) stated that inheritance tax receipts for April 2024 to September 2024 are £4.3 billion, which is £0.4 billion higher than the same period last year. The rules surrounding inheritance tax (IHT) have become ever more complex over the years but with the right advice we can help you and those you care about most.
Like most areas of financial planning the key way to deal with inheritance tax is to plan ahead with the family. Working with us we will make an initial assessment of your current position and then recommend the necessary actions. These actions might range from:
Updating or writing your Will* ensuring that this planned in line with your wishes
Utilising the available lifetime gifting allowances.
Considering whole of life insurance policies to pay any potential IHT
Establishing a tax-efficient investment strategy potentially involving trust planning**. This will allow a clear succession plan whilst allowing you to maintain control of investments.
Review your existing pension plans, as under the current legislation, pensions can also play a valuable role in estate planning.
IHT is often referred to as a voluntary tax, since a considerable sum is raised each year simply because families are not putting in place plans to mitigate its effects. Taking action can help you mitigate the IHT risk and ensure that your hard-earned assets are passed onto those that you would ultimately like to see benefit.
The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.
The levels and bases of taxation, and reliefs from taxation, can change at any time. The value of any tax relief depends on individual circumstances.
*Will writing involves the referral to a service that is separate and distinct to those offered by St. James’s Place. Wills are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
**Trusts are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Using annual gift exemptions and making regular lifetime gifts out of income can be one of the simplest and most cost effective ways of reducing the value of your estate for inheritance tax purposes with the added benefit of seeing your loved ones immediately benefit. However it is important that these gifts are documented in the correct way to ensure that your estate receives full benefit of these gifting allowances.
The levels and bases of taxation, and reliefs from taxation, can change at any time. The value of any tax relief depends on individual circumstances.
The first objective of any financial plan should be to protect the people you care about the most. When it comes to exciting financial purchases, life insurance is never going to top the list. Most of us would rather bolster our investment portfolio, look at buying a rental property, or improve our pension provision.
But it is vital if your loved ones depend on your financial support for their livelihood. Research from Cancer Research UK (2019) shows that individuals born after 1960 now face a 1 in 2 risk of being diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetime.
Providing protection cover in the various forms of life, critical illness and disability solutions is one of the fundamentals of our business.
We can provide you with advice on the following areas of protection.
– Life Cover (including Term Assurance and Whole of Life)
– Critical Illness
– Income Protection
– Employee Benefits
– Private Medical Insurance
