Estate Planning

Estate planning involves preparing and managing an individual’s assets in the event of their death or incapacitation. This includes the distribution of your property, minimising tax liabilities, and ensuring your wishes are carried out.

There are many benefits of estate planning. You will find out more about them in the next FAQ, below.

Estate planning allows you to plan and manage your assets during and after your lifetime, minimising taxes, and distributing your assets according to your wishes.

It provides peace of mind and ensures your financial legacy is protected for future generations.

One of the major benefits of our estate planning service is that it isn’t just the preserve of the wealthy. Anyone can take control of their financial legacy by working with an estate planner. 

Estate planning and inheritance tax (IHT) advice are related but not the same. Estate planning involves distributing your assets effectively after death, while IHT advice focuses on strategies to minimise tax liabilities on your estate. 

Both are crucial for effective long term, tax-efficient wealth management.

Of course, we offer a comprehensive inheritance tax service. As a result, we have an end-to-end service catering to your estate planning and tax mitigation requirements.

Our inheritance tax advice service helps mitigate and in many cases avoid paying IHT. Our experienced advisers are located across London, the Home Counties and the South of England. 

An estate planner will help you manage and protect your assets, create a plan for the distribution of your wealth upon death, and minimise tax liabilities.

They also provide guidance on powers of attorney, wills, trusts, and other legal documents.

A good, local estate planner will be diligent, and we would always recommend working with a company that has a solid track record in this area.

Our estate planners are located in London, the Home Counties and across the South of England. 

We offer services across London, Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Hampshire. Furthermore, we have expanded into the Midlands and have an adviser covering Leicestershire and Rutland. 

An estate planner can help ensure your assets are distributed according to your wishes, minimise estate taxes, and provide peace of mind.

They can also assist with legal and financial matters, including wills, trusts, and probate, as well as offer advice on charitable giving and asset protection.

The most obvious benefit to working with an estate planner is they are a professional, who will have years of experience. You can always trey ad go it alone but you could make some costly mistakes.

The most common estate planning mistakes include not having a will, failing to update who your beneficiaries are, and overlooking potential tax liabilities. 

Additionally, not planning for disability, and assuming estate planning is only for the wealthy are other common estate planning mistakes people make.

Additionally, not seeking professional advice can lead to errors or missed opportunities for optimal wealth management and asset distribution.

It’s best to start estate planning as early as possible, ideally when you start accumulating assets or have dependents.

It’s never too early to start planning, but it can be too late if you wait until you’re seriously ill or have already passed away.

The estate planning process involves identifying your assets and their value, determining your beneficiaries, and creating a plan to distribute your assets to your beneficiaries.

The main aim of this service is to ensure your estate is protected in a tax-efficient manner after you pass away.  It also involves creating legal documents such as wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. An estate plan should be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure that it remains current and meets your needs.

This is reviewed on a case-by-case basis depending on the level of work required. 

Our fee structure is transparent and you can find out how much we charge by visiting the page titled; ‘How We Are Paid’

At Sterling & Law, we offer a broad range of financial services.

The services related to estate planning are inheritance tax advice, wealth management, and financial planning.