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Will Writers

Helping you to help your clients plan for the future with expert tax advice

Will writing is an underappreciated art form and a comprehensive Will should reflect an individual's wishes and intended distribution of their estate.

Changes to the way that Inheritance Tax (IHT) is calculated have made the job of Will writers more challenging, as more people are required to take greater care when trying to preserve their financial legacy.

Having a tax adviser capable of understanding the full nuances of IHT and estate planning and how it affects people and businesses enables Will writers to be proactive in their approach.

Get in touch with our team to take the stress out of writing Wills to accommodate Inheritance Tax considerations.

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The increasing threat of Inheritance Tax

Successive Budgets have shifted the way that an estate is valued with regard to IHT and have caused many people to have to reconsider their approach to estate planning and review their Wills.

From 6 April 2026, 100 per cent APR and BPR is available on qualifying business and agricultural assets up to a combined £2.5 million, with relief generally restricted to 50 per cent on qualifying value above this amount.

The IHT treatment of overseas assets has changed as part of the move from the domicile-based regime to the new long-term UK residence rules and most unspent pension funds and pension death benefits will be brought within the scope of IHT from 6 April 2027.

While the nil-rate band remains at £325,000, a qualifying estate may be able to benefit from the residence nil-rate band, potentially increasing the available IHT-free threshold to £500,000 per person. For a married couple or civil partners, the available nil-rate and residence nil-rate bands can potentially provide up to £1 million of combined allowances, subject to the qualifying conditions.

Even accessing the residence nil-rate band generally requires a qualifying residence to be inherited by direct descendants, such as children or grandchildren. Any unused residence nil-rate band can also be transferred to a surviving spouse or civil partner.

More engagement with Wills

What may be good news for Will writers is that individuals should now be engaging with their Wills more than was previously necessary.

Gifting and trusts can form an important part of IHT planning and should be considered alongside the Will and wider estate plan.

A beneficiary will be frustrated if they have been left an asset that has already been gifted to someone else.

Likewise, if assets are being placed in a trust, this will also need to be accounted for in a Will and the trustees should be assigned and given their responsibilities at the same time.

Where IHT exposure does happen, practical difficulties for beneficiaries can arise where assets need to be sold or liquidated to meet IHT liabilities.

If this threatens another beneficiary’s inheritance, then a dispute is likely to occur.

To mitigate the risk of IHT or other financial considerations being the catalyst for Will disputes, knowledge of these considerations can be written into the Will itself and no-dispute clauses can be established around them.

Working with SGD to enhance
Will writing

Our team is devoted to the study of tax, both the regulations and the ways in which it can be planned for by individuals.

We work with Will writers to identify opportunities to provide more assistance to clients as they seek to structure their estate in a way that preserves their financial legacy.

As Wills are more of a living document than ever before, being able to bring additional value to conversations with clients can help you to meet their needs and differentiate from competitors.

Increasing tax considerations and the view that inheritance is one of the few ways that young people can purchase property are making Wills more valuable and complicated than before.

To continue delivering the high-value service that benefits your clients, speak to our team for ongoing finance and tax support.

Speak to our team to discover a new way of handling your finances.

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