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Estate & Lifetime Planning

Our team of Lifetime Planning Solicitors can help you ensure your wealth is managed efficiently, with minimal tax liabilities. Contact us today to find out how we can help you plan for the future in the best way possible.

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  • Fixed Fees Available

  • Multiple Law Society Accreditations

  • Regional & National Award Winners

  • Law Society Lexcel Quality Scheme Accredited

Legal Advice for Estate & Lifetime Planning

It may have taken a lifetime to build up your wealth but without adequate planning, you risk quickly losing much of it to tax liabilities or mismanagement. Intelligent estate and lifetime planning gives you peace of mind knowing that your assets are protected, and you can pass on your legacy to the next generation.

 

Why Does Estate Planning Matter?

When it comes to estate and lifetime planning, it’s easy to put it off. But people often end up forced to make difficult decisions in a relatively short space of time. That’s why it’s essential to think about your options in advance while you are still fit and able.

You may want to take advantage of trust structures or lifetime gifts that can help minimise inheritance tax. These areas are highly complex and only work if done right.

It’s not only important to consider what you’ll leave behind for your loved ones, but also how to care for you or your spouse/civil partner in your old age.

It takes time to formulate an effective plan, especially if you have complex needs such as owning a large estate that includes businesses or international assets. You need to think carefully about how best to provide the outcome you want while navigating the legal implications.

Whatever your individual needs, Rowlinsons can help make sure there is a solid plan in place that will safeguard your assets and ensure your wishes are carried out while minimising the impact of inheritance tax.

 

Why Choose our Estates & Lifetime Planning Solicitors

Our team at Rowlinsons understand that the future often seems uncertain, but the earlier you arrange to protect and provide for your family, the easier it will be to manage any event from the unexpected to the inevitable.

We can help you prepare your estate to preserve as much wealth as possible, ensure the right people benefit, and make managing it easier for the next generation.

You’ll have direct telephone and email access to our award-winning solicitors and assistants, so we’re always by your side.

Our awards include:

  • ‘Private Client Team of the Year – Boutique, highly commended’ at the 2023 British Wills and Probate Awards.
  • ‘Solicitor Firm of the Year (North), highly commended’ at the 2018 British Wills and Probate Awards.
  • ‘Excellence in Private Client’ at the 2018 National Law Society Awards. 

Several members of the Estate Administration team are full members of STEP - the professional association for solicitors specialising in family inheritance and succession planning. Members of STEP are highly trained and considered to be specialists in this complex area of law. You get peace of mind knowing that we have the skills to help you successfully prepare for the future.

 

  • Donna Eland
      • 01928 736671
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  • Candice Jones
      • 01928 736711
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  • Gemma Kelly
      • 01928 736637
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  • Josie Jones
      • 01928 249 763
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  • Katie Roberts
      • 01928 736166
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  • Laura Goldsmith
      • 01928 736157
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  • Megan Chamorro Moris (Renshaw)
      • 01928 736152
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  • Peter Gausden
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  • Sarah Green
      • 01928 736151
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Estates and Lifetime Planning Services Include:

 

Long Term Care

Many people need to go into a nursing home or receive some form of long-term residential care when they get older. It can be difficult to predict if you’ll need long-term care, but it’s important to plan for this eventuality to ease the burden on your family and safeguard your assets. 

This can be a daunting and complex matter to contemplate because the cost involved with receiving long-term care can have a significant impact on assets that you may want to preserve.

Your capital or property can be used to fund care fees if you or your loved one require long-term care. It’s important to know your options so you can manage the impact of care fees on your residential property.

If you want to know if you can avoid being forced to sell your home our solicitors can advise on the best way to protect your assets.

 

Declarations of Trust

A declaration of trust is a legal document you can obtain when jointly purchasing a property. It precisely outlines each person's share. This is particularly important when there are different sums of capital involved or a third party is contributing financially.

In estate planning, a declaration of trust defines what will happen to each person’s share if the property must be sold or a person wants to be bought out. It also helps those administering your estate after you pass away as the trust document will confirm your share in the asset so that your interest in the property can be distributed per the terms in your will.

Rowlinsons can advise you on how to protect your individual contribution to a property. For help with obtaining a declaration of trust on your jointly owned property get in touch with our team today.

 

Inheritance Tax Planning

The rules around inheritance tax are complicated but it’s essential to understand the implications of inheritance tax on your estate so you can take steps to reduce the tax liability on your assets when you die. This ensures your loved ones benefit as much as possible from your legacy.

Rowlinsons offers specialist advice on maximising the inheritance tax efficiency of your estate. Our dedicated team of inheritance tax solicitors is experienced in creating or reorganising wills and trusts to take advantage of inheritance tax reliefs. We’ll help you effectively plan your estate so your loved ones can make the most of your assets, wealth, and property.

You may want to know if you can save inheritance tax on your home and still live there or minimise inheritance tax liabilities while maintaining a large amount of your estate to be received by your family.

Rowlinsons can help you understand your options including dedicating some of your wealth to charity, setting up trusts, and donating some of your estate before you die.

 

Succession Planning

Succession planning entails considering your family's circumstances and intentions for the future so you can preserve and pass on your wealth to the next generation and beyond. Effective succession planning takes the needs and wishes of the whole family into account, not just your immediate concerns.

The process includes the creation of a plan which can be updated by family members. Even if you already have a will in place, that might not be sufficient to ensure that the beneficiaries deal with their inheritance wisely if they have not made their own plans.

A successful plan can preserve wealth and family heritage and ensure stability for generations to come.

Rowlinsons are experts in succession planning and will advise you on how to ensure your inheritance will be handled properly and provide optimal financial benefit and support for your family.

 

Business Succession

Business succession planning is the process of deciding who will take over your business when you retire or the unexpected happens. For owners of family businesses and rural estates, with careful planning, you’ll be able to formulate a framework on how the business will operate to ensure success for generations to come.

Effective business succession planning ensures that your business continues to run smoothly after you’ve moved on. Whether passing on to family members or your business partner, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that the culmination of your hard work over the years is protected.

Our specialist solicitors can help you with appropriate succession planning to prepare for the future of your company. We’ll advise you on the different elements involved, including appointing a successor, minimising inheritance tax or capital gains tax, and providing for other members of the family.  Our team can make sure your estate is effectively structured to make handing over assets to the next generation as straightforward as possible.

 

Farm Inheritance Planning

Succession planning for farming families is a complex area of estate planning. Rowlinsons can help you plan for retirement and after you’re gone whether your family are landowners or tenant farmers.

If you’re a farmer planning for your future, you will want to ensure continuity in the business. Usually, you will already have the successor in mind, but it’s essential to involve family members to define and clarify their roles within the estate.

You will want to define how the business works, determine who’s responsible for what, and establish where revenue streams are going. It’s important to speak to likely successors and find out their aims and ambitions for the future as they will have their own thoughts on the best plan for the short and long term.

Rowlinsons can advise in all areas of farm succession planning including restructuring assets & liabilities, continuity for agricultural tenancies, tax planning, and advice on division of the family farm. We’ll help you draw up a will and create a plan that will stand the test of time and account for family members not involved in the business. 

 

Contact our Lifetime Planning Solicitors

Our Wills, Trusts and Estate solicitors at Rowlinsons are proud of the high quality of client care, professionalism, and legal expertise we provide to individuals across the UK.

Our Lifetime Planning Solicitors in Cheshire provide legal services for wealth management and planning for clients across the United Kingdom including individuals in WarringtonWidnesSt HelensChester, and Northwich, from our offices in Frodsham and Runcorn (Sutton Weaver).

Rowlinsons team of Lifetime Planning Solicitors are always available to guide to through every step of the legal process, so you can be sure your wealth and estate are protected and distributed with your interests as a priority.

Call us today for an initial no obligation call or click here for a call back. We also have meeting facilities in North Wales by appointment.