Inheritance tax and trusts solicitors

Expert inheritance tax planning and advice

Specialist legal advice is the backbone of an effective plan to minimise the inheritance tax (IHT) that will have to be paid on your estate in a compliant manner. Inheritance tax law, and inheritance tax reliefs and exemptions can be complex. Even more so if you own a business or have assets in the UK and overseas. Our inheritance tax and trusts solicitors can provide you with up-to-the-minute, in-depth inheritance tax advice and strategy to ensure your loved ones benefit as much as possible from your wealth and property when the time comes.

Trusts are used to protect family wealth for future generations, reducing the inter-generational cascade of inheritance tax and ensuring bloodline protection for your estate from outside claims.

Our multi-disciplinary team of solicitors has combined experience across all aspects of tax, estate and succession planning from Wills, trusts and probate to private wealth property and family law.

Business succession planning

If you own your own business, you should take expert advice to ensure that it passes to the next generation without incurring unnecessary tax charges. Business relief from inheritance tax is a valuable relief which can reduce the taxable value of an asset to nil. It is, however, essential to arrange your affairs in such a way so as to ensure this important relief is used to its maximum advantage.

We are experienced in helping business owners to structure their affairs in a tax efficient manner. Our Business Succession Plan consists of Wills and associated documents designed to maximise the benefit of business relief from inheritance tax, ensuring the inheritance tax payable on an estate, which includes business property, is minimised to the greatest possible extent.

We can also call on colleagues in other departments to provide expertise where partnership or shareholder agreements need to be revised as a result of your succession planning.

Specialist Wills and trusts for succession and inheritance tax planning

Our team of solicitors are experienced in using Wills and trusts for complex inheritance planning and tax mitigation. We often advise on the following types of Wills:

• Asset Protection Wills ensure your beneficiaries receive the maximum benefit from the family estate by protecting it against claims from third parties.
• Next Generation Protection Wills are for married couples, or civil partners, with children. They are designed to protect the child’s inheritance against third party claims such as taxation, divorce or bankruptcy.
• Family Protection Wills combine our Next Generation and Asset Protection Wills to protect assets for each generation.
• Second Marriage Wills ensure children from previous relationships (following divorce or bereavement) can inherit certain assets and couples can maximise the IHT exemption that is available to them.
• Exempt Assets Inheritance Tax Plan refers to a pair of Wills, with trust provisions, that allow you to take full advantage of IHT reliefs on some business and/or agricultural assets. This type of will can also include incorporate elements of our Asset Protection, Next Generation and Family Protection Wills if required.
• Property Fragmentation Wills place part of a property into a trust to save inheritance tax in the future. Aspects of our Asset Protection, Next Generation and Family Protection Wills can also be incorporated.
• Foreign property Wills are for owners of property overseas.
• Charitable giving can be structured to take maximise IHT exemptions.

Using trusts to pass on assets before you die

You may wish to use trusts as part of your lifetime estate planning. For instance:

• To pass money to children or grandchildren so it is not taxed on your death. Placing this money into a trust ensures that funds can be protected until those children reach an age where they can manage the funds responsibly.
• To help children onto the property ladder.
• To provide for vulnerable or disabled family members.
• To create a charity in your name which lives on to promote and support the causes close to your heart.

Trust administration

As well as advising on the creation of new trusts, we have a dedicated team of trust administrators who are responsible for the day-to-day running of existing trusts.

Their work includes:

• Managing the trust assets;
• Advising trustees on their duties and responsibilities;
• Liaising with beneficiaries regarding their entitlements;
• Advising charity trustees on regulation, compliance and structuring of projects;
• Preparing annual trust accounts and tax returns;
• Assisting trustees with their obligations under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Common Reporting Standard (CRS); and
• Advising on inheritance tax compliance during the lifetime of the trust and on cessation.

Our trust administrators are also able to act as a central point of contact for other professionals involved with trusts, such as investment managers, brokers, land agents and accountants.

Professional trustees

Our own trust corporation, Clarke Willmott Trust Corporation Limited can act as trustee of your trust, whether on its own, or jointly with other individuals. This extends and supports the personal and trusted relationship we seek to develop with all our clients.

Recommendations

‘The firm is a great choice for probate and trusts disputes, with appropriate subject-matter expertise coupled with a well-judged and efficient approach.’ – The Legal 500 2025

‘The people are all excellent and bring individual expertise and skills to provide the full range of support.’ – The Legal 500 2025

Contact a specialist trusts and inheritance tax solicitor

For trusts or inheritance tax advice contact one of our expert solicitors on 0800 652 8025 or contact us online. Your initial consultation is free. Our specialist solicitors are based in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton and Taunton and are ready to discuss your case.