You have spent your lifetime growing and accumulating your wealth. What should you do when it comes to passing it onto the next generation?
Below are some tips for transferring your wealth to your loved ones.
Make your wishes known
Planning what will happen to your assets when you die is not an easy task and requires communicating your wishes with your chosen beneficiaries. At Four Wealth Management, your Financial Adviser will be happy to meet with you and your beneficiaries to fully explain all of the options available to you and help you to decide what which is most suitable for your individual circumstances. You will get an annual face-to-face meeting with your adviser to review your portfolio as your circumstances change.
Did you know 70% of wealthy families lose their wealth by the second generation and 90% by the third generation?* If you want your wealth and legacy to extend over multiple generations, your Financial Adviser can explain the importance of intergenerational family planning to your immediate beneficiaries so they can understand how they can safe guard your assets as opposed to spending all of it.
When it comes to transferring your wealth, we can help the sustainability of the next generation’s finances giving you peace of mind.
Start Estate Planning early
Estate planning involves forward planning for preserving, managing and distributing your assets after you die. Estate planning is an evolving process that develops as your life and personal circumstances change over time.
Find out more about estate planning
Continue to receive income from your assets
For investors who are looking to receive income from their investments while also planning on transferring some of their wealth to their loved ones, diversifying investments across different geographies and asset classes is essential to create a balanced portfolio and preserving your wealth to help make sure you are able to receive the income you desire.
Find out more about preserving your wealth
Mitigate Inheritance Tax
Many people are unaware that their pension pot normally falls outside of their estate which means it is free from any Inheritance Tax liability. Because of this, your Financial Adviser at Four Wealth Management might recommend that you take income from other investments before your pension as it may be more tax-efficient.
Have an up-to-date Will in place
Regardless of the amount of wealth you have, you should have an up to date Will. If you do not have one, your Financial Adviser can help you establish one as one of the initial objectives in your financial plan.
Even if you have communicated all of your wishes to your family, in order for your wealth transfer plan to be executed as you wanted, an up-to-date accurate Will must be in place to dictate where and when your beneficiaries receive your assets.
Reduce the value of your estate
Making outright gifts reduces the value of your estate, therefore reducing the potential Inheritance Tax liability. Each person has a £3,000 annual exemption for gifts, which is immediately outside of your estate when gifted.
You can also gift assets above this limit that will be potentially exempt from inheritance tax providing you live for at least seven years afterwards and you have no interest or link to the transferred assets.
Use Trusts
If you wish to retain control and choose when the money is gifted to your beneficiaries, giving using a Trust may be an option for you.
Trusts can be set up when you are alive or established in your Will.
Bare trusts provide a solution for passing on assets to minors, they will gain access to the assets or income from the trust from the age of 18.
The tax rules around Trusts are complex, and you should speak to a Financial Adviser to help decide if a Trust is suitable for your own circumstances.
Nominate a Power of Attorney
Having a Power of Attorney in place is an important aspect of Estate Planning. This is giving someone else the power to make decisions on your behalf if you ever lack the capacity to do so. If you lose capacity to make decisions for yourself in the UK and do not have a Lasting Power of Attorney in place, your assets will be frozen meaning your family could be put under pressure and unable to pay bills on your behalf. They will need to then apply to the Court of Protection to deal with your affairs which can be costly, stressful and time consuming.
Business owners should consider having a separate Power of Attorney in place to cover their business affairs.
Find out more about Powers of Attorney
Start Estate Planning
The top tip for transferring your wealth to your loved ones is start to plan as early as possible. The earlier you establish a plan, the more time you have to reduce your Inheritance Tax bill and you will have more options available to you to do this.
Contact us on 0117 973 0500 to book a face-to-face or telephone meeting with a Financial Adviser.
*Money.com, ‘70% of Rich Families Lose Their Wealth by the Second Generation’, 2015
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The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.
The levels and bases of taxation, and reliefs from taxation, can change at any time. The value of any tax relief depends on individual circumstances.
Will writing and Powers of Attorney involves the referral to a service that is separate and distinct to those offered by St. James’s Place and along with Trusts are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
