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First Equitable inheritance tax planning at a glance
Chester office: Bridgegate House, 5 Bridgegate, Chester, CH1 1SA. Telephone 01244 267485
What we help with: forecasting, reducing and funding inheritance tax, including gifting, trusts, business relief, charitable giving and life cover in trust
Specialisms: pensions and estate planning together, which matters because pensions enter the inheritance tax net from April 2027
Credentials: Chartered status, FCA regulated (FRN 782577), independent and whole-of-market
Getting started: free initial consultation at our cost, with no obligation and no minimum contract
Why inheritance tax planning matters now
Inheritance tax is charged at 40% on the value of your estate above your allowances. The nil-rate band is £325,000, and a residence nil-rate band of up to £175,000 is available when your home passes to children or grandchildren, so many couples can pass on up to £1 million between them. Both allowances are now frozen until April 2031.
Frozen allowances matter because your assets are not frozen. As property and investments rise in value, more estates drift over a static threshold each year. For many families the family home alone accounts for most of the estate, which is why people who never considered themselves wealthy find they have an inheritance tax problem. The earlier you plan, the more options remain open, because several of the most effective ones, gifting in particular, need years to work.
The 2027 pension change
For years, leaving a pension untouched was one of the most tax-efficient ways to pass on wealth, because unused pension funds sat outside your estate. That changes on 6 April 2027, when most unused pension funds will count as part of your estate for inheritance tax. Where death occurs after age 75, your beneficiaries can also pay income tax on what they draw, so the combined effect can be significant.
This reshapes good planning. The old habit of spending other savings first and preserving the pension no longer holds automatically. Because we advise on pensions and drawdown as well as estate planning, we look at both together rather than treating them as separate problems.
Our wealth management services
Pension & Retirement Planning
The Whether retirement is decades away or just around the corner, we help you build a strategy to get there. Pensions advice, consolidation, drawdown and annuity purchase, all explained in plain English by a dedicated adviser.
Wealth Management
Growing your wealth is one thing, keeping hold of it is another. Independent, whole of market advice on savings and investments, wealth preservation, and trusts and inheritance tax planning, built around what you actually want your money to do.
Protection Planning
Life rarely gives notice. Life insurance, critical illness cover, income protection and private medical insurance, arranged so your family and your income are covered if the worst happens, without paying for cover you don't need.
Financial Planning for Business Owners
Running a business leaves little time for your own finances. We bridge the gap between the two, advising on company pension schemes, corporate savings and investments, and protection, working alongside your accountant and legal advisers.
Wills & Power of Attorney
Making your wishes clear now saves your family difficulty later. We help you put a valid will in place and set up a lasting power of attorney, so the right people can act if you no longer can.
Probate & Estate Administration
Administering an estate is daunting at the worst possible time. We guide executors through the grant of probate, settle debts and taxes, and distribute the estate properly, with a fixed quote agreed before any work begins.
Reducing an inheritance tax bill
- Making full use of your allowances and the spouse or civil partner exemption
- Gifting to family, using the annual exemptions, the seven-year rule and the often-overlooked exemption for regular gifts out of surplus income
- Placing assets into trusts so they pass outside your estate
- Business relief, through a business or qualifying investments
- Charitable giving, which is exempt and can reduce the rate on the rest of your estate to 36%
- Making sure you have a valid will and a lasting power of attorney in place
Funding an inheritance tax bill
Not every bill can, or should, be planned away. Some clients would rather keep control of their assets and simply make sure the tax can be paid. This matters because of a catch-22: your estate usually cannot be distributed until the inheritance tax is paid, but the money to pay it is often locked inside that same estate. Executors can find themselves needing to raise cash at the worst possible time.
The usual solution is a whole-of-life policy written in trust. It pays out on death, outside your estate, giving your family the cash to settle the bill straight away. We advise on whether that route makes sense for you and how to structure it, alongside our protection advice.
What our advice costs
Your first consultation is free, at our cost, with no obligation. If you go ahead, we charge a fixed initial fee for your financial planning report, then a tiered percentage of the portfolio implemented, where the rate falls as the value rises. Ongoing service is optional and starts from as little as 0.3% a year. There is no minimum contract. Full detail is on our charges page.
What our clients say
How to get started
Book a call or send us a message and we will arrange your consultation at our Chester office, at your home, or by video call. We will forecast your likely bill, explain your options in plain English, and only recommend action where it genuinely helps. See our process page for how we work.
Regulated advice you can check
