Estate Planning Solicitors

How we can help with estate planning

Our estate planning services include the following:

• Estate planning advice – Our solicitors can provide vital estate planning advice, offering legal expertise on will drafting, inheritance tax, trusts, and powers of attorney, ensuring comprehensive and tailored plans.
• Making a will – Our solicitors can aid in creating wills, providing legal guidance, ensuring accurate documentation of asset distribution, guardianship, and wishes, adhering to legal requirements and minimising potential issues.
• Inheritance tax – Our solicitors assist with inheritance tax by offering expertise in legal strategies to minimise tax liabilities, ensuring compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
• Trusts – Our solicitors can provide guidance on establishing trusts, ensuring proper documentation and compliance with laws, enabling effective asset protection, management, and distribution according to your wishes.
• Succession planning – Our solicitors assist with succession planning by offering legal expertise to ensure seamless transitions of assets and responsibilities within businesses or family contexts.
• Lasting power of attorney – Our solicitors guide individuals through establishing lasting power of attorney, we can help you to appoint trusted individuals to make decisions on your behalf.
• Living wills – Our solicitors can assist with living wills by offering legal expertise and ensuring one’s medical treatment preferences are legally recognised and followed.

Speak to our estate planning solicitors in Eastbourne and Hastings

From our offices in Eastbourne and Hastings, our estate planning solicitors work with clients all across East Sussex, including in Hastings, Bexhill-on-Sea, Hailsham, Polegate, Battle, Pevensey and St Leonards-on-Sea.

To arrange a free, no obligation 30-minute interview with our team, you can:

• Call: 01323 434414
• Email: enquiries@stephenrimmer.com
• Or pay us a visit at 28 – 30 Hyde Gardens Eastbourne East Sussex BN21 4PX

Estate planning FAQs

What is estate planning in the UK?

Estate planning in the UK refers to the strategic process of arranging and managing one’s assets, properties, and financial matters to ensure their smooth distribution and management upon your incapacitation or demise.

It encompasses creating legally binding documents like wills, trusts, and power of attorney to outline how assets should be divided and managed, while considering factors like taxation, inheritance laws, and personal wishes.

Estate planning allows individuals to minimise potential inheritance tax liabilities and provide for their loved ones or designated beneficiaries according to their intentions.

It also involves appointing guardians for minor children and making provisions for long-term care.

Given the legal complexities and potential emotional aspects, seeking professional guidance, such as from solicitors or financial advisors, is advisable to create a comprehensive estate plan that aligns with individual circumstances and helps secure a stable financial future for you and your heirs.

What is the best age to start planning for an estate?

It’s prudent to start estate planning as soon as you have assets or dependents, even though there’s no fixed “best” age. Typically, many begin in their 30s or 40s, when they’ve accumulated substantial assets, have a family, or have dependents.

Starting early allows you to create a well-thought-out plan that adapts to changes over time. Nevertheless, life circumstances vary, so adjustments might be needed due to changes in family, assets, or financial goals. Reviewing and updating your estate plan at major life events like marriage, birth of children, significant asset acquisition, or divorce is crucial.

Waiting too long might limit your options, causing potential tax implications or leaving loved ones without clear instructions.

Consulting a solicitor or financial advisor can provide tailored advice for your situation and help craft a robust estate plan that safeguards your assets and secures your family’s future.

How much can you inherit without paying tax in the UK?

The inheritance tax nil-rate band in the 2023/24 tax year is £325,000. This means that the initial £325,000 of your estate, upon your passing, remains exempt from IHT, regardless of who you leave it to.

If you leave everything to your spouse or civil partner, you typically won’t be charged any Inheritance Tax.

If your estate is valued at above the inheritance tax nil-rate band when you die and you haven’t left everything to your partner, the excess will be liable for IHT. Currently, the standard inheritance tax rate is 40%.

At what age should you create a trust?

The appropriate age to establish a trust depends on your specific circumstances and objectives.

Trusts can be beneficial for various purposes such as estate planning, asset protection, and providing for loved ones.

Generally, creating a trust when you have substantial assets or complex financial arrangements is advisable, often in your 30s or later.

However, trusts can also be set up earlier in life if there’s a compelling reason, like safeguarding assets for future generations.

Trusts can play a role in minimising inheritance tax, providing for minor children, and managing wealth.

Consulting with legal and financial experts is crucial to determine the optimal timing for establishing a trust based on your individual goals, financial situation, and life stage.

Is it better to gift or inherit property?

Deciding between gifting and inheriting property involves considering various factors. Gifting property can provide control over the transfer and potential tax benefits, but it may incur immediate capital gains tax and potential loss of control over the property.

Inheriting property can offer potential inheritance tax advantages and a stepped-up basis for capital gains tax purposes, but the timing and terms are determined by the deceased’s estate plan.

Both options have implications for inheritance tax, capital gains tax, and personal circumstances.

The choice depends on factors such as the giver’s financial situation, recipient’s needs, and long-term goals.

Seeking advice from legal and financial professionals is crucial to make an informed decision that aligns with your financial objectives and minimises potential tax liabilities.

Our estate planning solicitors’ fees

It is our aim to provide excellent quality legal advice and outstanding client service at a competitive rate.

We offer fixed fees for some work so that you can be sure of the costs involved from the start. Where fixed fees are not available, we will give you a clear estimate of the costs at the outset and the hourly rate of the individuals who will be working on your case.

Speak to our estate planning solicitors in Eastbourne and Hastings

From our offices in Eastbourne and Hastings, our estate planning solicitors work with clients all across East Sussex, including in Hastings, Bexhill-on-Sea, Hailsham, Polegate, Battle, Pevensey and St Leonards-on-Sea.

To arrange a free, no obligation 30-minute interview with our team, you can:

• Call: 01323 434414
• Email: enquiries@stephenrimmer.com

Or pay us a visit at 28 – 30 Hyde Gardens Eastbourne East Sussex BN21 4PX