Succession Planning
Our team of expert Succession Planning Solicitors ensure your rights and wishes are protected. We can help you address your concerns regarding your wealth, business, and assets, and how to pass it on to the next generation effectively.
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Succession Planning Experts
Multiple Law Society Accreditations
Regional & National Award Winners
Law Society Lexcel Quality Scheme Accredited
Our specialist Succession Lawyers are experts in planning the succession of assets and wealth.
Rowlinsons’ wills and estate planning team offer pragmatic and commercially astute advice to help you protect the wealth that took a lifetime to build so you can leave a lasting legacy.
Rowlinsons Solicitors have decades of experience helping high net-worth individuals and business owners plan for the future. We understand that these are some of the toughest decisions you’ll ever face. Our Succession Planning Solicitors advise on all areas of wealth protection while taking a friendly, supportive approach.
Rowlinsons is an award-winning firm in Cheshire. Our expertise earned us the Excellence in Private Client Award from the National Law Society in 2018. We were also highly commended in the Boutique Private Client Team of the Year category at the British Wills and Probate Awards 2023.
Our team includes some of the most prominent Wills, Trusts, and Estate Planning Solicitors in Cheshire, many of whom are members of STEP which further reflects our expertise in this specialist area of law.
Succession planning is the process of arranging the best way to pass on your wealth after you're gone. It involves considering the needs and concerns of your loved ones and including them in the process so you can prepare your beneficiaries to take up the stewardship of family wealth.
The process includes the creation of a plan that considers your financial and personal situation as well as that of your family.
The planning process includes:
It’s important to involve your whole family in the process so they know how to manage things after you’re gone. You may already have a will in place but that might not be enough to ensure that the beneficiaries deal with their inheritance wisely - particularly if they have not made their own plans.
Power of Attorney grants someone the legal right to manage your financial or medical affairs while you are still alive. You can appoint a relative or a legal professional.
A POA can help you to ensure your interests are protected, and the succession of your wealth and assets is handled according to your wishes. By granting POA to someone close to you or a professional, you can avoid future issues for your family for unforeseen circumstances, such as frozen finances or outstanding bills.
At Rowlinsons Solicitors, we can advise you and those you appoint POA to help make the best decisions for you when you are unable to do so yourself.
A trust is a legal arrangement designed to look after assets for a specific beneficiary or group of beneficiaries until a certain time when they can receive them. Assets in trust will still generate income which may have tax consequences for the trustees, whose role is to manage the trust.
You can hold any type of asset in a trust such as money, stocks and shares, land, property, valuable family heirlooms, and even life insurance. Assets can be put into trust during your lifetime or you can specify in your will that an asset is to be transferred into a trust when you die. This adds a layer of protection for your assets and wealth which can make the succession planning process easier and more effective.
A Family Investment Company (FIC) is a private limited company set up to hold family assets. This type of structure provides a tax-efficient alternative to traditional planning methods which is why it’s growing in popularity.
An FIC gives you more control over how assets are distributed or used to provide for your family and what happens in cases such as divorce. They are useful for any family with wealth to invest or if you want to protect, give away, or grow assets in a structured way. Our team can advise if an FIC is right for you.
Making the right decisions now could set up your family’s financial stability for generations to come. There are several things to consider including:
This includes where your family members live, their health, financial position, and long-term goals.
What are your financial needs now and in the future? You must ensure you have sufficient wealth remaining to enable you to enjoy the lifestyle you want before you can pass on the excess.
If your business is the source of your family’s wealth you need to consider what to do with the company after retirement or your death. That could mean either ensuring the smooth transition of the business to the next generation or creating an effective exit strategy.
Do existing legal structures still meet your requirements? For example, does your will provide sufficient protection for your beneficiaries? You may want to consider how using trusts or family companies could help protect your assets.
You may need professional legal or financial help. Your advisors need to work together on a long-term plan so that your financial structure complements your legal structure rather than working against it. Our Succession Planning Lawyers at Rowlinsons have vast experience working in partnership with other professionals and can help liaise with your advisors such as accountants, surveyors, and financial advisors.
Whatever your circumstances are, you can benefit from a clear and efficient succession plan. You may have spent many years building a safety net for the next generation, and it is important to ensure your interests are protected. With a careful plan, drafted by expert Succession Planning Lawyers, you can expect to:
Depending on your unique circumstances, you may see even more benefits to your plan. For example, if you own the family business, our Business Succession Planning Solicitors can help you plan what happens to it after you have gone, whether you want to simply pass the leadership roles to the next generation or draft a more succession strategy for you and your family.
It can take many years of blood, sweat, and tears to build up significant wealth. It is much easier to lose through mismanagement or being squandered by irresponsible relatives. Succession planning can go a long way to avoid your hard work going to waste.
We often find that those who do not have a strong succession plan in place would be liable for high rates of Inheritance Tax (IHT). Thanks to the expertise of our Succession Planning Lawyers in Inheritance Tax Planning, we can advise you on the most efficient ways to pass on your wealth and assets. A carefully thought-out succession plan can preserve wealth and family heritage and ensure stability for future generations to come.
If you want the peace of mind that your wealth will continue to benefit subsequent members of your family after you’re gone, get in touch today to find out how our Succession Advisors can help you create an effective plan tailored to your needs.
Our team includes leading experts in succession planning. You’ll get clear, comprehensive advice on how to ensure the proper management of your estate after you're gone so that you can provide optimal financial benefit and support for your family.
Succession planning can involve many areas such as family law, financial management, business assets, and property. As a leading full-service firm in the UK, we can cover these complex matters in detail. We’ll help you decide the best way to manage your assets and pass on wealth including identifying beneficiaries, deciding how and when they benefit, and carrying out those decisions.
Together we’ll discuss your unique situation and tailor a plan to suit your needs and those of family members. We’ll use our experience to structure your estate and consider tax and regulatory issues to ensure that the wealth transfers as smoothly and tax-efficiently as possible.
If you are ready to plan how your wealth will be passed on to the next generation, get in touch with the Lifetime Planning Solicitors Rowlinsons today for a no-obligation assessment.
We understand how complex this process can be. This is why we work closely with you, and provide tailored legal advice for Wills, Trusts, and Estate planning that fits your situation, your family, and your estate. With the Rowlinsons team by your side, you can be sure your interests are protected for the future.
Our Solicitors in Cheshire regularly provide legal services for clients across the United Kingdom including individuals in Warrington, Widnes, St Helens, Chester, and Northwich, from our offices in Frodsham and Runcorn (Sutton Weaver).
We are here to support you every step of the way.
Call us today for an initial no obligation call or click here for a call back. We also have meeting facilities in North Wales by appointment.
Over the past 5 months, the staff at Rowlinsons have been giving up some of their time to volunteer for various local charities and organisations. This is all part of our Community Engagement Initiative set up by our Charity Committee. Members of staff have...
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