Estate planning for the modern blended family can be challenging. Where there has been a second marriage, estate planning can raise complexities, and the decisions to be made can be difficult. However, there are steps you can take to make sure you fairly provide for everyone who matters to you.
There are benefits to planning for retirement if you’re a married couple or in a civil partnership as it comes with allowances and exemptions. However, it may also mean that you need to consider the other person’s perspective on money and create a joined-up retirement timeline. The foundation of a successful retirement plan for a couple is to sit down,…
When it comes to retirement planning, the sooner you start the better. Whether you’re close to retirement or have many years to go before you stop work, there are plenty of things you can do to boost your retirement income. Retirement planning should be based on your aims, objectives, and the level of risk you are prepared to take. Here…
Self-employment is growing in the UK, with 4.25 million workers self-employed in 2023, compared to 3.2 million in 2000. Working for yourself has many advantages, such as more freedom, the opportunity to work from any location you choose and it puts you in the driving seat, but one of the downsides is that along with an absence of holiday and…
There are various ways that you can achieve your charitable giving objectives, for example, by making one-off donations, creating a regular direct debit or leaving a legacy in your will. If charitable giving is important to you and you prefer a hands-on approach, setting up a charitable trust is an effective solution. This is a trust whereby the trustees can…
UK taxes can be a complicated affair and if you’re not a trained tax accountant, filling in tax forms can prove, well, taxing. However, tax forms must be filed accurately as mistakes can prove costly. HMRC can make mistakes too, so you need to be vigilant and make sure that all your correspondence with HMRC is checked and…
Setting up a trust can be an effective way of protecting assets from various factors such as tax liability, divorce settlements, bankruptcy, and other claims. When you put assets into a trust, you no longer own them – they belong to the trust, and named beneficiaries can benefit from them according to the rules of the trust (the trust deed)….
Upon your death, the executors of your will or administrators of your estate will often need a grant of probate or a grant of letters of administration before they can collect and then distribute any assets. You won’t be able to sell a house without a grant and many banks and other organisations require a grant before they allow full…
Trusts have been used as a means of financial planning for centuries and go back as far as the Middle Ages. They are a way of ring-fencing assets in a place where they can be managed by one person or a group of people on behalf of others. When it comes to estate planning, trusts are a good way to…