Trust & Succession Planning
Assisting in ensuring orderly and effective succession planning sits at the heart of our client work, both domestically and internationally.
Allied to the question of succession to family wealth is its long term preservation for the benefit of future generations or chosen charitable purposes.
We work closely with our individual clients, their families and their advisory teams to understand and refine their short and long-term objectives, to recognise and address their concerns and to build a practical, efficient and robust succession plan to suit them. Understanding what matters most to our clients allows us to create a plan recognising and allowing for specific wishes and aspirations, be those selling or retaining a business, making a retirement plan, gifting specific assets, meeting philanthropic aims or dealing with wealth transition across borders.
Responsibly preserving wealth for the next generation (and beyond) is frequently a key consideration. We provide effective means of achieving that aim and are experts in the creation of all forms of trusts and their equivalents in an estate planning context. Our advice includes consideration of the inheritance, capital gains and income tax implications of any potential structuring.
What sets us apart from other firms is how collaboratively we work with other teams within the firm and with our clients’ other professional advisers. In doing so, we are able to create holistic plans and long-term structures to preserve, administer and enhance multi-generational family wealth.
How we help
- Wealth transition – We ensure that the transition of wealth from generation to generation is effective, efficient and focussed on the preservation of family wealth for the long term
- Tax advice – We advise on all aspects of capital gains, income and inheritance tax, as well as on commercial and property transactional tax matters
- Family governance – We take care to ensure that the governance and administration of family wealth is both appropriate and reflective of the need for risk management. This helps to avoid the unnecessary dissipation of wealth, optimise performance and protect the integrity of both the family and their businesses alike
- Wills – We draft tax efficient wills for clients and advise on lasting powers of attorney and living wills so as to provide our clients with peace of mind and certainty
- Estate administration – We advise on all types of probates and have a particular expertise in advising on those involving complex trusts and overseas property. We are also highly experienced in advising on the probates of international individuals with assets in the UK
- Lifetime giving – We advise clients on all aspects of lifetime giving, including philanthropic and environmentally / socially responsible investment
Recommended reading
Boodle Hatfield, the leading private wealth and real estate law firm, has revealed a new equal opportunity parental leave policy. The new policy is available to all employees and Partners across the firm and is believed to be a market first for an independent London law firm.
Read more 20 Feb 2024 Boodle Hatfield successfully succeeds on three grounds in a will validity claimPartner, Nicola Bushby and Associate, Katherine Reed have secured a significant High Court victory in relation to the validity of a will, succeeding on three grounds.
Read more 16 Feb 2024 A tale of two testsIn the STEP Journal, Partner, Nicola Bushby and Associate, Katherine Reed describe the tension between the Banks v Goodfellow and MCA 2005 tests when dealing with testamentary capacity cases and highlight that the only rational course is for the law to adopt one single test.
Read more 16 Feb 2024 The Lessons in Legacy Podcast, Philanthropy Edition, In Conversation with Jake HaymanIn the fifth and final episode of ‘The Philanthropy Edition’ Alberto Lidji and Clare Stirzaker are joined by Jake Hayman, a serial entrepreneur and experienced social sector consultant. Jake has been working with some of the most progressive wealth holders for the last 20 years and is currently writing a book on the topic. Together Alberto, Jake and Clare look at everything from taxes to misunderstandings around philanthropy and how wealth can be managed in a more equitable and just way
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