Estate planning is the careful planning and drafting of legal documents, in conjunction with advice from your advisers, to ensure that your loved ones receive what is rightly theirs following your death, your estate paying only the minimum Inheritance tax, taking advantage of all Inheritance Tax (IHT) exemptions and reliefs available.

Your assets will be distributed in accordance with your wishes and not those set out by the general law.

If you have children from a previous marriage or from another relationship, then it would be fair to take into consideration the interests of those children.

Perhaps it would be reasonable to let your new spouse remain in your property for a certain period of time before allowing children to inherit. This is something that can be addressed by careful estate planning.

When advising you on your estate planning, the documents to be considered would be:

Wills

Lasting Powers of Attorney

Trusts (both living trusts, and trusts within your Will including property protection trusts, discretionary trusts and probate trusts)

Deeds of Severance and Declarations of Trust

Failing to utilise effective estate planning leaves your estate (property, possessions and money) wide open to RISK.

Some of these risks include:

Your assets not passing to your intended or expected loved ones

Sideways disinheritance

Local Authorities being able to take your monies and property for care home fees

Assets being dissipated during bankruptcy or divorce

Your estate (above the tax-free threshold) paying inheritance tax at 40%