How to Avoid Intestacy Problems in the UK

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When someone dies without a valid will, the people closest to them may not receive what they expected. That is the central risk behind intestacy, and understanding how to avoid intestacy problems is one of the most practical steps you can take to protect your family,...

Gifting Property to Your Children While You’re Alive: The Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax Traps

by johnireland | Articles

Give away the family home too soon, and you could hand HMRC two tax bills instead of none Gifting a property to your children while you’re still alive can feel like the sensible, generous thing to do. You reduce the value of your estate, you get to see your...

Business Relief Estate Planning for Owners

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A successful business can be the asset that gives a family security for decades. It can also create some of the most difficult decisions in an estate. If you own a trading company, a family firm, a professional practice or a rural business, business relief estate...

Built to Sell by John Warrillow — How to Build a Business That Does Not Depend on You

by johnireland | Articles

Why This Book Belongs on an Estate Planner’s Shelf John Warrillow’s Built to Sell is written as a short business fable: Alex owns a struggling advertising agency, discovers that no buyer wants it, and rebuilds it into something saleable with the help of a...

The Loneliness of Ownership — Why Business Owners Carry Decisions Alone, and What It Costs Them

by johnireland | Articles

The Question Nobody Asks the Owner Employees have managers. Managers have directors. Directors have a board. The owner has nobody — and yet the owner is the person carrying the personal guarantee, the payroll, the lease, and the outcome of every decision. Ask an owner...

Will Trust Comparison: Which Protects Your Estate?

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A will trust comparison is not simply a choice between two documents. For many homeowners, landlords and business owners, the right answer is a will supported by one or more carefully chosen trusts. Each has a different job: a will directs what happens when you die,...