It is especially important to have your Will professionally drafted when you own a business.
Without the correct clauses your family may be forced to sell your business, as without a correctly drafted Will, your Trustees are required by law to diversify investments held in trust.
A correctly drafted Will can also save inheritance tax being paid unnecessarily.
Inheritance Tax should be carefully considered when drafting the Will of a business owner. Businesses left on Discretionary Trust may reduce the tax payable and help maximise your children’s inheritance.
Trading Businesses are typically subject to 100% relief from inheritance tax. This tax relief is often inadvertently lost. If a business is left to a spouse who then sells it and banks the proceeds, the tax relief would no longer apply, and inheritance tax will be payable when the surviving spouse dies. A Discretionary Trust included in your Will could be used to preserve the tax relief so the children can benefit from a tax-free inheritance.
Without a well thought through Will in place, the death of a business owner, director or partner of a company can cause unnecessary and complicated problems for the surviving spouse and/or business associates. The Will Writing Service can help to plan for the passing of key persons within a company, ensuring that in the event of death there is an outcome that meets the needs of the business and the family of the deceased.
If you would like to find out more about our will writing services, please contact us on our free phone number 0808 100 2467.