Historically only solicitors were allowed to offer Probate services, but since 1st November 2014, accredited accountants are now able to offer this assistance. We were amongst the first firms to gain probate accreditation.

It goes without saying that not having a will in place can have major consequences for those that are left behind as an estate may not be distributed as originally intended.

Furthermore there can be increased administration costs to the estate, with additional tax implications.

It has also been widely reported recently that problems and disputes about probate are on the rise. There are a number of probable reasons for this increase, ranging from suspected executor fraud to negligence, from executors being obstructive to disputes where a Will creates a trust and the executors are also the trustees.

Since we become accredited, and thus allowed to offer probate assistance, we have seen a gradual increase in the number of clients wishing to use these services. Dealing with probate on death is a natural extension to our services, as a clients financial information will be readily available to us.

Apart from applying for probate and acting as an executor and assisting executors, we have also been identifying the assets and liabilities of estates and dealing with all the administration.

It goes without saying that we also deal with all aspects of personal tax planning, claiming all reliefs to which the estate is entitled.

We are always pro-active when it comes to structuring our clients assets for tax purposes, and we have been advising our clients on a number of areas including:

Will trusts or lifetime trusts
Tax-effective clauses to include in a will
Maximising lifetime inheritance tax thresholds in your will
Optimising all inheritance tax reliefs, (including personal business assets)
Bespoke will planning for wealthy estates

Being able to offer probate services has increased the wide range of assistance we offer, and as a result improves still further the level of service we provide to our clients.

Retired households face an average annual tax bill of £6,500, research by Prudential has found.

Analysis of data from the Office for National Statistics reveals that pensioners pay thousands in direct and indirect taxes each year.

The figures show that the average retired household income rose to £21,800 in the 2012/13 tax year. However, the amount of tax paid by retired households also increased and pensioners are now paying over 30% of their income to the taxman.

In the 2012/13 tax year:

the average retired household paid £3,900 in indirect taxes and £2,600 in direct taxes
indirect taxes (including VAT and duties) accounted for 60.2% of the average retired household’s tax bill
direct taxes (including income tax and council tax) made up 39.8% of the average tax bill
VAT was the biggest tax item, accounting for 8.2% of the average tax bill
income tax accounted for 7.4% of the average tax bill.

The Treasury estimates that the newly introduced pension freedoms could lead to an increase in tax revenue of £320 million during the 2015-16 tax year and £1.22 billion in 2018-19. The research highlights this as further proof that people approaching retirement need to factor tax into their plans.

Stan Russell, retirement income expert at Prudential, said:

“Retired households make a major contribution to the Exchequer every year whether it is in direct or indirect taxes and clearly it is not possible to avoid all taxes simply because you’ve stopped working. It’s a stark reminder that not all the income you receive in retirement will be yours to spend as you like.

“Irrespective of the new pension rules and their tax implications, the fundamental principles remain true – the best way to secure enough income for a comfortable retirement is to save as much as possible as early as possible in your working life.”

We can help you minimise your tax liability in retirement. Contact us today

Tag: Taxes

Probate is no longer a protected legal service

Retired households face higher tax bills