Protecting your personal assets
In the rush of everyday life, it is easy to forget about the future but, whatever your age, there are things you can and should be doing to protect your assets from losing value or falling into the wrong hands.
There are four main points to consider: Wills, Inheritance Tax Planning, Living Wills and Powers of Attorney and Trusts
Inheritance Tax Planning
Few of us think about planning for the day our assets are passed on, but planning for the future can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. Maybe you have children you want to be sure are provided for, or a family business or estate that you want to pass on to the next generation. Even if you are just starting out in your career, you could be surprised at the difference planning now can make.
Writing a Will can be the start of good inheritance tax planning, but if your assets extend beyond your home and some savings or investments, you could benefit from an extensive review of your personal affairs.
This would allow us to identify any assets that are most likely to give rise to a tax charge in the future, and enable you to take action to minimise this. In addition, we can look at the
way in which your assets are going to be used or extended through your lifetime and identify the most tax efficient way forward for you. For example, it might be beneficial to put some assets in Trust, or to change the way your business is set up to allow further tax savings, or you might be able to give particular items to certain people at a later date without incurring tax. We can make you fully aware of all these factors so that you can plan in the best way forward for you.
Of course, planning for the future ties in with financial planning for your lifetime and we have qualified Independent Financial Advisers at Murray Beith Murray to enable us to offer a comprehensive service.
The thought of reviewing your financial situation can be daunting, but good planning brings peace of mind and can contribute to a secure future.
Living Wills and Powers of Attorney
Anyone has the right to refuse or consent to proposed medical treatment. However, sometimes an individual is not able to make or communicate a decision regarding medical treatment or the ability to communicate such a decision. This can create difficulties and lead to cases where an individual's life is maintained artificially against his or her wishes.
Some people do not want to be treated in such circumstances and so arrange for a "Living Will" to be completed. This is a document which records an individual's wishes regarding any proposed medical treatment that the individual may or may not wish to receive at a later time.
A Living Will must be carefully written so that your wishes are clear to doctors and nurses treating you. Murray Beith Murray can help you consider exactly what you want to say and how best to say it.
It is also important to consider that, at some point in the future, it may become difficult or inconvenient for you to take action or make a decision, for whatever reason, and it may be useful to have arrangements in place for someone to do these things for you. A Power of Attorney allows you to select a family member, a partner, a friend or professional adviser to make financial, or welfare related, decisions on your behalf should you be unable to do so yourself. A Power of Attorney is not only set up as an arrangement should you become unable to act through mental or physical incapacity, but it can be also used when it is inconvenient for you to manage your affairs yourself, for example, you may want a trusted friend to manage your affairs in the UK while you are abroad.
Trusts
You can benefit through setting up a Trust by protecting assets and obtaining a tax saving at the same time. For example, you might want to leave your niece a lump sum, but you do not want her to spend it on the wrong things. By putting the money in Trust, you can be sure that your niece receives the money and that an appointed “Trustee” makes sure that the lump sum is spent on worthwhile things. At the same time, you could also benefit from a tax saving.
When a Trust is up and running, it needs to be managed. If the Trust holds a lump sum, this needs to be invested so that it does not lose value. If the Trust holds a house, this will need to be maintained and possibly let out. Murray Beith Murray can help make the best of the assets held in your Trust and keep the paperwork up to date.
Are you a Trustee?
Are you looking for advice on your powers and your responsibilities? Perhaps you would like to appoint somebody to make sure that you are complying with the tax rules and regulations applying to the Trust? Maybe you want to resign or appoint another Trustee to help out.
Murray Beith Murray can help you keep on top of your responsibilities and advise you on Trust decisions, the appointment of new Trustees or the resignation of existing Trustees. If you are a Trustee of a charitable Trust, it is even more important to make sure that you comply with the rules and regulations that apply to these.
To find out more about Protecting your Personal Assets, please contact Graham Scott or Carole Hope on 0131 225 1200.