Balance giving with living.
Deciding how to pass on your wealth means balancing what you want to give with what you need to keep living the life you enjoy.
You may want to help loved ones now or leave something for their future, while making sure you have enough available funds for your own plans and any unexpected costs.
Taking a balanced approach to estate planning, we help you create a structured plan that makes your choices, and their effects, clearer, so you can support the people you care about while keeping your own needs firmly in the picture.
Estate planning with everyone in mind.
From gifting and trusts to life cover, we help you explore your purpose for giving and the ways in which you can pass on your wealth and manage inheritance tax (IHT) to fulfil that purpose.
Gifts
When making gifts, it’s important to consider what you can afford and when to give. Our expert planners can advise on various ways you can gift to those dearest to you.
Trusts
With extensive experience in trusts set up during your lifetime or through your will, we help you explore your options and understand how they could reduce the impact of IHT.
Life cover
Life cover can play a valuable role in estate planning. We can review your arrangements to help ensure the proceeds reach your beneficiaries without unnecessary delays.
What you can expect from your estate plan.
Knowing what your wealth can achieve
Providing for your family’s financial security when you aren’t around can feel abstract. By collaborating on a concrete plan, you can begin to picture how that support could work.
Informed decision making
By exploring the pros and cons of your options and treating nothing in isolation, you can make choices that are right for you, your family, and your funds.
Potential tax efficiencies
Though IHT can limit the amount individuals can pass down tax-free, there are several ways to reduce the tax payable and pass on more wealth to those who matter most.
Giving back through philanthropic planning
If supporting charities or causes close to your heart is important to you, we can help you explore how charitable giving fits into your wider estate plan. From making donations during your lifetime to considering charitable trusts and leaving a lasting legacy, we help you understand your options and their potential tax implications.
“The wealth we build throughout our lives is about more than the monetary amount we leave behind. It's about the people we care about, the values we hold and the impact and difference we can make for future generations. Thoughtful estate planning helps ensure that what matters most to you continues to matter long into the future.”
Rhian Morgan
Group Director
Planning for the future and leaving a meaningful legacy.
How estate planning helped Maria protect her financial future while making provisions for the causes closest to her heart.
Maria was in her 40s when she began considering how best to manage her growing wealth and plan for the future.
Having inherited property and investments following the loss of her parents at a young age, she had built a successful career as a doctor before moving into research and consultancy work.
With her wealth continuing to grow, Maria wanted to ensure her financial arrangements reflected her changing circumstances and long-term wishes.
Our financial planning team worked closely with Maria to understand her priorities, including her desire to leave a charitable legacy.
Although she already had a Will and power of attorney in place, a review identified that these needed updating to reflect her circumstances.
Working alongside specialist tax advisers and solicitors in Scotland and England, we helped Maria explore her estate planning options, including the potential establishment of a charitable trust to support causes close to her heart.
We also reviewed her financial forecasts to ensure she had sufficient accessible funds and a regular income to support her time working overseas.
The outcome
Maria gained greater clarity around her estate planning options and the steps needed to protect her financial future.
By bringing together financial planning, tax advice and legal expertise, we helped her consider how her wealth could support both her own ambitions and her wish to make a lasting difference to others.
For Maria, estate planning was about more than passing on wealth. It was about making sure her financial arrangements reflected her values, priorities and hopes for the future.
The names have been changed to ensure our clients’ privacy, however, below is a quote from our clients recounting their experience.
What clients say.
We are a retired married couple with a sizeable estate. We wanted advice on how best to invest our funds, donate to charity and make provision for our children and grandchildren, all with the added complexity that we wish to invest ethically. Rhian took the time to understand our family's needs and our objectives. Acting on her suggestions in conjunction with suggestions from our solicitor we decided to set up a family trust. As Rhian knew our preferences she made practical suggestions about our investment options and the advantages and disadvantages of each, and she pointed out any tax implications. She liaised with our solicitor which made the process run very smoothly for us.
A client of Rhian Morgan
Our commitment to you.
Acumen Financial Planning is authorised and regulated as Financial Planners by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”).
Our independence means we offer unbiased, unrestricted advice on investments and financial products from across the whole market, informed by a fair and comprehensive analysis.
From the beginning, we explain our fees and the services they cover. These reflect the time, expertise and ongoing support dedicated to you, while allowing us to develop our team and maintain a sustainable business that can support you for years to come.
Estate Planning FAQs.
Find answers to some of our most frequently asked questions. If you can't find what you're looking for, our team is here to help. Simply get in touch and we'll be happy to answer your questions.
What if my circumstances change?
We understand that flexibility plays a crucial role in any financial plan. Alongside regular reviews, you are welcome to get in touch with your estate planner at any time to discuss any concerns or changes in your circumstances.
Do I still need a solicitor?
Legal advice plays an important role alongside financial planning. We help you identify potential tax efficiencies while protecting your own financial needs, and our trusted legal partners can support you with wills, powers of attorney, trust deeds and other legal arrangements. Our ‘Panel of Excellence’ brings together legal experts whose services complement our financial planning expertise. By working collaboratively, we help keep the financial and legal aspects of your estate plan aligned.
Can I help my family during my lifetime?
Certain types of gifts and trusts can be used in your lifetime to provide financial support to your loved ones. By exploring your purpose for gifting and examining the trade-offs and impacts of taking this route, we help you identify potential tax efficiencies while protecting your own financial needs.
How do I know what I can afford to give?
Your priorities are personal. What you can afford to give depends on your circumstances and financial needs, both now and in the future. Through financial modelling, we can test how different circumstances could affect your finances and provide you with a long-term strategy as well as five-year plans to help keep your plans on track.
Does my estate need to have a certain value to use your estate planning service?
Estate planning isn't just about the value of your estate. It's about making sure your wealth is managed in a way that reflects your wishes, supports the people you care about and considers any potential inheritance tax implications. We offer different service levels, each with its own eligibility criteria and financial thresholds. The support available will depend on your individual circumstances, the complexity of your estate and what you're looking to achieve. If you're unsure whether our estate planning services are right for you, please get in touch. Our team would be happy to discuss your circumstances and help you understand the options available.
