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Succession Planning

Our team of expert Succession Planning Solicitors ensure your rights and wishes are protected. We can help you address your concerns regarding your wealth, business, and assets, and how to pass it on to the next generation effectively.

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Succession Planning Solicitors

Adequate succession planning is key if you want to preserve your assets for the next generation and beyond.

Rowlinsons’ wills and estate planning team offer pragmatic and commercially astute advice to help you protect the wealth that took a lifetime to build so you can leave a lasting legacy.

 

Specialist legal advice for succession planning

Rowlinsons Solicitors have decades of experience helping high net-worth individuals and business owners plan for the future. We understand that these are some of the toughest decisions you’ll ever face. Our succession planning solicitors can advise on all areas of wealth protection while taking a friendly, supportive approach.

Rowlinsons is an award-winning firm in Cheshire. Our expertise earned us the Excellence in Private Client Award from the National Law Society in 2018. We were also highly commended in the Boutique Private Client Team of the Year category at the British Wills and Probate Awards 2023.

Our team includes some of the most prominent Wills, Trusts, and Estate Planning Solicitors in Cheshire, many of whom are members of STEP which further reflects our expertise in this specialist area of law.

 

What is succession planning?

Succession planning is the process of arranging the best way to pass on your wealth to the next generation. It involves considering the needs and concerns of the whole family and including them in the process so you can prepare your beneficiaries to take up the stewardship of family wealth.

 

What’s involved in succession planning?

The process includes the creation of a plan that considers your financial and personal situation as well as that of your family.

The planning process includes:

  • Identifying beneficiaries
  • Making a will to set out who should inherit what and when
  • Considering the use of legal structures such as trusts and family investment companies
  • Appointing professionals to help manage your assets
  • Executing these decisions.

It’s important to involve your whole family in the process so they know how to manage things after you’re gone. You may already have a will in place but that might not be enough to ensure that the beneficiaries deal with their inheritance wisely - particularly if they have not made their own plans.

 

What is power of attorney?

Power of attorney grants someone the legal right to manage your financial or medical affairs while you are still alive. You can appoint a family member or a legal professional. At Rowlinsons Solicitors, we can advise you and those you appoint POA to help make the best decisions for you when you are unable to do so yourself.

What is a trust?

A trust is a legal arrangement designed to look after assets for a specific beneficiary or group of beneficiaries until a certain time when they can receive them. Assets in trust will still generate income which may have tax consequences for the trustees, whose role is to manage the trust.

You can hold any type of asset in a trust such as money, stocks and shares, land, property, valuable family heirlooms, and even life insurance. Assets can be put into trust during your lifetime or you can specify in your will that an asset is to be transferred into a trust when you die.

What is a family investment company?

A family investment company is a private limited company set up to hold family assets. This type of structure provides a tax-efficient alternative to traditional planning methods which is why it’s growing in popularity.

An FIC gives you more control over how assets are distributed or used to provide for your family and what happens in cases such as divorce. They are useful for any family with wealth to invest or if you want to protect, give away, or grow assets in a structured way. Our team can advise if an FIC is right for you.

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What do I need to consider?

Making the right decisions now could set up your family’s financial stability for generations to come. There are several things to consider including:

Family circumstances

This includes where your family members live, their health, financial position, and long-term goals.

Your standard of living

What are your financial needs now and in the future? You must ensure you have sufficient wealth remaining to enable you to enjoy the lifestyle you want before you can pass on the excess.

Source of wealth

If your business is the source of your family’s wealth you need to consider what to do with the company after retirement or your death. That could mean either ensuring the smooth transition of the business to the next generation or creating an effective exit strategy.  

Existing structure

Do existing legal structures still meet your requirements? For example, does your will provide sufficient protection for your beneficiaries? You may want to consider how using trusts or family companies could help protect your assets.

Your advisors

You may need professional legal or financial help. Your advisors need to work together on a long-term plan so that your financial structure complements your legal structure rather than working against it. Our team at Rowlinsons has vast experience working in partnership with other professionals and can help liaise with your advisors such as accountants, surveyors, and financial advisors.

 

What are the advantages of careful succession planning?

  • Make it easier for the next generation to take care of your wealth, preserving it for many years to come.
  • Provide stability through the inevitable ups and downs in the economy.
  • Protect against bad lifestyle choices by less responsible family members.
  • Educate family members on the best way to deal with their inheritance.
  • Manage your family’s expectations of what they will receive.
  • Reduce the chance of financial mismanagement or disputes which can quickly become expensive.

 

What happens if I don’t make succession plans?

It can take many years of blood, sweat, and tears to build up significant wealth. It is much easier to lose through mismanagement or being squandered by irresponsible family members. Succession planning can go a long way to avoid your hard work going to waste.

A carefully thought-out succession plan can preserve wealth and family heritage and ensure stability for generations to come.  If you want the peace of mind that your wealth will continue to benefit subsequent members of your family after you’re gone get in touch today to find out how we can help you create an effective plan tailored to your needs.

 

Why choose Rowlinsons?

Our Wills, Trusts, and Estate Planning team includes leading experts in succession planning. You’ll get clear, comprehensive advice on how to ensure the proper management of your estate after you're gone so that you can provide optimal financial benefit and support for your family.

Succession planning can involve many areas such as family law, financial management, business assets, and property. As a leading full-service firm in the UK, we can cover these complex matters in detail. We’ll help you decide the best way to manage your assets and pass on wealth including identifying beneficiaries, deciding how and when they benefit, and carrying out those decisions.

Together we’ll discuss your unique situation and tailor a plan to suit your needs and those of family members. We’ll use our experience to structure your estate and consider tax and regulatory issues to ensure that the wealth transfers as smoothly and tax-efficiently as possible.

 

Contact our Succession Planning Solicitors

If you are ready to plan how your wealth will be passed on to the next generation, get in touch with the Lifetime Planning Solicitors Rowlinsons today for a no-obligation assessment.

We understand how complex this process can be. This is why we provide tailored legal advice for Wills, Trusts, and Estate planning that fits your situation, your family, and your estate. With the Rowlinsons team by your side, you can be sure your interests are protected for the future.

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

We are here to support you every step of the way.

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.