Effective estate planning can help ensure that all your assets are distributed and managed according to your wishes on your death.
While your estate plan may focus on your assets specifically, developing that strategy need not be a solitary exercise; keeping relevant parties informed from the outset can produce a more robust and durable plan. A coordinated team brings different expertise and may identify issues whose importance might otherwise be overlooked.
Here are 10 key parties to include in your estate planning discussions:
1. Family and loved ones
Family members and loved ones are often intended beneficiaries, whether through inherited wealth or the knowledge and tools needed to carry out your wishes. Involving them in discussions, or leaving a clearly written letter of wishes, can offer reassurance and reduce the risk of later confusion or dispute.
2. Attorneys
A Power of Attorney is a legal document that appoints an adult to make decisions on your behalf if you can no longer do so due to incapacity. Typically, legal Attorneys can make complex decisions regarding financial, property and healthcare matters.
Discussing your wishes, preferences and feelings regularly with the person you appoint can help ensure they make decisions that express your values and best interests. Some important topics may include whether lifetime gifts can be made from your estate and your views on artificial feeding and organ donation.
3. Executors
Your Will must appoint an Executor to administer your estate and implement its terms. Although Executors have no legal right to see the Will before your death, knowing its provisions and the intentions behind them can help, particularly if the estate is contentious or includes trusts. Executors and Attorneys may also need to communicate about actions each has taken.
4. Healthcare professionals
General Practitioners (GPs) and other medical advisers may be important to estate planning. Circumstances like getting older, living with a chronic condition, or facing unforeseen events may restrict available options and shape your decisions. Keep your GP informed of any Powers of Attorney, as a Welfare Attorney may need to work closely with the medical team so that your wishes are properly considered.
5. Business partners
If you have business interests, discuss succession with your business partners, whether relatives, friends or colleagues. Understanding each other’s wishes can expose gaps and identify where supporting legal documents are required. A clear, coordinated succession plan is essential to the continuity of any business venture.
6. Property agent
Owners of property portfolios may rely on several agents who can inform the estate plan. A letting agent can supply details of rental income for tax returns and cashflow projections, while an estate agent can advise on market conditions and the prospects of a future sale.
7. Surveyors and valuers
Effective planning requires a reliable estate valuation. Property, contents and other assets may have no readily accessible value, so a specialist surveyor or valuer can provide the information needed to assess the estate accurately and make informed decisions.
8. Financial advisers
A financial adviser can review assets, investments, pensions and protection arrangements against your estate and succession objectives. They can model income and capital needs, test the affordability of lifetime gifts and recommend suitable investment or insurance strategies, while coordinating their advice with your solicitor and accountant.
9. Accountants
An accountant can clarify your personal and business finances, including the value, ownership and tax treatment of estate assets. They can identify potential liabilities, assist with cashflow forecasts and business succession, and explain the financial consequences of gifts, trusts or transfers.
10. Your solicitor
At the centre of a comprehensive estate planning strategy is your solicitor, or a legal team with specialist knowledge of the different aspects of your estate. They can work with financial advisers and accountants on a bespoke plan, consult doctors or social workers on welfare matters, and recommend appropriate valuers and agents. Once the plan is agreed, they can also help Attorneys, Executors and loved ones implement it, guiding everyone through the process and addressing unforeseen issues or complexities.
Need legal advice for estate planning?
Our Private Client team can answer any questions you may have about estate planning and provide legal advice on a wide range of succession planning matters, including Wills, trusts, and Power of Attorney.
