Peace of mind that there is someone you trust to look after your affairs

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that allows you to appoint one or more people to make decisions on your behalf during your lifetime. The people you appoint to manage your affairs are called the ‘attorneys’. An LPA is a completely separate legal document to your Will, although many people put them in place at the same time as getting their will written, as part of wanting to plan for the future.

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Protecting, preserving or ultimately distributing wealth

As part of your Inheritance Tax planning, you may want to consider putting assets in trust – either during your lifetime or under the terms of your Will. Putting assets in trust – rather than making a direct gift to a beneficiary – can be a more flexible way of achieving your objectives. Read more…

Passing assets efficiently to the next generation remains a primary objective for many

There are many things to consider when looking to protect your family and your home. Protecting your estate is ultimately about securing more of your wealth for your loved ones and planning for what will happen after your death to make the lives of your loved ones much easier. It’s not nice to think about, but it means that your loved ones can carry out your wishes and be protected from Inheritance Tax. Read more…

Time to bring your investments together?

If you have accumulated a number of Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) over the years, keeping them all in one place could give you better control and help you save money. There’s a common misconception that you can’t move your existing ISAs from one provider to another. Transferring your ISAs doesn’t affect its tax-efficient status, but you should make sure that you don’t have to pay penalties or give up valuable benefits. Read more…

Visualising what really matters to you is the key to the planning process

Have you ever thought about writing a letter to yourself to describe your ideal future life, long-term life goals and the process of how to plan for them? Imagining what you want your life to be like in the long term when you retire can help you think much further ahead than you might ever have done before. Research conducted for a new campaign[1] shows that over half (54%) of people plan their lives only days (31%) or weeks (23%) ahead. Read more…