Lawyer
Practice Areas
.Taxation for Individuals
.Wills
.Power of Attorney
.Trusts
.Co-ownership of Property
Taxation for individuals
I advise on all aspects of taxation, with particular emphasis on inheritance and capital gains tax planning. Matters I advise on include:
general estate planning and maximizing IHT reliefs
creating trusts as a structure for maintaining family wealth
advising on the pre-owned assets tax regime
reviewing an existing trust post Finance Act 2006 and advising whether restructuring is required
In many cases, early specialist advice can save very substantial amounts of tax. Tax advice can range from a simple 'health-check', such as advice on whether your family will be subject to an inheritance tax charge in the event of your death, to sophisticated tax planning arrangements. I have the flexibility to tailor advice to any individual's circumstances.
Trusts
Many people presume that only the superrich might need a trust. But a trust can be a useful estate-planning tool for lots of people. If you own your home or have substantial savings or assets in property, then you may benefit from a trust. Trusts can minimize IHT liabilities and provide excellent protection from lawsuits and creditors.
Trusts are flexible, varied and complex. While each type has advantages and disadvantages, they all provide a way to manage assets (money, investments, land or buildings) for people. There are different types of trusts and they are taxed differently.
Trusts involve:
the ‘settlor’ – the person who puts assets into a trust
the ‘trustee’ – the person who manages the trust
the ‘beneficiary’ – the person who benefits from the trust
Some good reasons to set up a trust
Trusts are set up for a number of reasons, including:
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to control and protect family assets
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when someone’s too young to handle their affairs
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when someone can’t handle their affairs because they’re incapacitated
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to pass on assets while you’re still alive
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to pass on assets when you die (a ‘will trust’)
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under the rules of inheritance if someone dies without a will (in England and Wales)
Trusts Give Control
Trusts allow wealthy Settlors to control the destination of their money not just throughout their lifetime but also after they have died. Trusts are particularly important to Settlors who care for minors, the elderly, the disabled, the long-term sick and other vulnerable persons who cannot manage their own money and want to provide for them after they themselves have gone.
Who Owns the Assets in the Trust Fund?
Although the assets are put into a Trust Fund, the assets in the Trust Fund are not legally owned by the Trust. The Trustees themselves are the legal owners of the assets and the Beneficiaries are the beneficial owners of the assets. The Trustees are therefore personally liable to the Beneficiaries for the assets and income of the Trust Fund and to the tax man for taxes due from the Trust Fund, something they might not always be aware of.
Wills
I advise individuals on all aspects of will drafting and issues affecting wills including:
wills for high-net-worth and high-profile individuals
drafting wills in difficult family circumstances
estate planning
wills for the elderly
statutory wills
tax efficient wills and use of the nil-rate-band
wills and marriage or civil partnership
wills leaving specific legacies to pilot trusts
dealing with property in EU
the effect of the Finance Act 2006 and subsequent Finance Acts on will drafting
Co-ownership of Property
Most people are not aware of the different types of joint ownership available. But when you tell the Land Registry, it will affect what you can do with the property if your relationship with a joint owner breaks down, or if one owner dies.
So getting some professional advice from the experts before you buy could save you some heartache down the line. I can discuss the options available to you. So when you embark on what is probably your largest of financial commitment, you’ll be able to take advantage of all the benefits and avoid the pitfalls.
When you purchase a property in more than a name, it’s best to be really explicit about who owns what. The most secure way to do this is to prepare a Declaration of Trust. This can include the decision as to whether you hold property in equal shares – 50:50 or some other proportion such as 70:30
All too often the importance of this document can be overlooked until there is either a disagreement between the co-owners or with a third party such as a trustee in bankruptcy.
There are two types of co-ownership structure.
Joint tenants
As joint tenants (sometimes called ‘beneficial joint tenants’): both of you have equal rights to the whole property but the property automatically goes to the other owners if you die so you can’t pass on your ownership of the property in your will to a third party.
Tenants in common
As tenants in common, the property is treated as an asset in which the co-owners each take a share. You can own different shares of the property and the property doesn’t automatically go to the other owners if you die. So you can pass on your share of the property in your will if you wish to a third party.
I find that increasingly the tenants in common option is appealing because of the continued increase in property prices mean co-owners often get financial help from family or friends when buying a property. So if the property passes to a joint tenant, this could leave a private lender out of pocket.
You can also change from sole ownership to tenants in common or joint tenants, eg if you want to add your partner as a joint owner. This is called transferring ownership.
As well as dealing with the contributions made to the purchase price, the Declaration of Trust can also clarify other expenses which avoid disputes down the line. The list below outlines some of the options
Power of Attorney
Unfortunately, there may be times when you need someone to act on your behalf. Fortunately, a trusted family member or friend who, as you choose, is granted legal authority to make decisions on your behalf. You may need to have this in place if you lack mental capacity in the future. Often people find it comforting to know that when they no longer wish or are able to make decisions for themselves, there is a nominated person who can do this for them.
LPA’s fall into two types:
1.for financial decisions
2.for health and care decisions
Not all Powers of Attorney are ‘Lasting’. There are several types of Power of Attorney in use, a General Power of Attorney
When is an LPA valid?
As part of that checking process, the LPA has to be countersigned by a certificate provider who confirms that you understand it and haven’t been put under any pressure to sign it.
The LPA is then registered before it can be used.
General Powers of Attorney
The simplest one to give and use is called the General Power of Attorney. It is a short document that you sign in front of a witness that sets out what you want the Attorney to do. It can be as broad or as narrow as you like. For instance, some are limited to selling a particular property while others give the Attorney unrestricted freedom to manage your finances from collecting your income to paying your debts.
The Power is only valid when it has been certified and registered