Personal

Wills & succession planning

Wills & lifetime gifts

We offer comprehensive advice to people who wish to make gifts of their wealth, during their own lifetime or on their death. 

We help clients structure their wills so as to protect their children, grandchildren and other heirs against creditor or divorce claims; we assist them in achieving their charitable aims tax-efficiently; and we enable them to make gifts and other transfers to keep the impact of gift and inheritance taxes to a minimum.

We have advised clients intending to make gifts of all descriptions, including real estate, portfolios of shares in publicly traded companies, holdings in private companies, artwork and other items of moveable property, intellectual property and other assets. The recipients of these gifts have included individuals, trustees, charities, foundations and companies. 

Our clients are based in US and UK and all over the world.  Their aim is typically to pass on their assets in an orderly and tax-efficient manner, and to that end we use trusts and other devices to reduce tax and facilitate good investment practices. 

Recent work 

  • Advising a client selling a very valuable asset on tax and gift planning strategies, with the aim of passing on much of the proceeds to trusts for the benefit of family members, charitable trusts and a charitable foundation. The final plan also achieved significant income, gift and estate tax savings for our client.
  • Advising a client as to the form of the provision he should make by Will for the children of his two marriages, having regard to their differing ages and circumstances and his overall wish to treat the children ‘equally’.
  • Advising a client with substantial assets in a variety of jurisdictions as to the succession and tax regimes that would apply on his death to the various categories of assets.

© Withers 2007 - 2008