Estate Tax Experts

Make Your Estate Tax Efficient with Expert Planning

Estate planning isn’t just about who inherits what it’s about making sure more of your wealth goes to the people and causes you care about and less is lost in unnecessary tax. HeirPlan offers inheritance tax planning services to help you minimise estate taxes and ensure efficient asset transfer.

At HeirPlan, we specialise in UK estate and inheritance tax planning for individuals, families, and business owners who want clarity, control, and confidence about the future. We provide expert advice and work closely with our clients to deliver personalised, professional guidance throughout the estate planning process.

We deliver practical advice tailored to each client's needs.

Interior designer and clients discussing drawings

Who We Help

We advise a wide range of clients, including:

Individuals and couples concerned about leaving a tax-efficient legacy
High-net-worth families with property, investments, or business interests
Business owners planning succession and eventual exit
Blended families wanting to balance fairness and protection
Executors and trustees seeking professional support

Whether your estate is straightforward or more complex, we’ll help you understand your options and make informed decisions. HeirPlan considers each client’s unique family circumstances and significant life events when developing estate plans, ensuring your strategy adapts to changes and remains effective.

Consult Now

Our Core Services

Estate & Inheritance Tax Review

A detailed review of your current position, including:

Estimated value of your estate
Review of all your worldwide assets and consideration of worldwide assets for UK Inheritance Tax purposes
Potential inheritance tax exposure
Existing wills, trusts, and life policies
Opportunities for tax savings and restructuring

You’ll receive a clear summary of risks, options, and recommended next steps.

Estate Tax Reduction Strategies

We design and implement tax-efficient strategies which may include:

Lifetime gifting plans, including utilizing potentially exempt transfers (PETs) and making gifts from surplus income or regular income, which can be exempt from Inheritance Tax (IHT) if properly structured and documented.
Use of exemptions and reliefs, such as making small gifts (up to £250 per person per year), giving wedding gifts within exemption limits, and maximizing tax free allowances like the annual exemption.
Making use of the nil rate band (£325,000) and residence nil rate band, which provide tax-free allowances for your estate and main residence, and can often be transferred between spouses.
Structuring how property and investments are owned to maximize available reliefs and allowances.
Planning for business property relief and agricultural property relief, especially in light of upcoming legislative changes from 2026 and 2027, to reduce the taxable value of qualifying business and agricultural assets.
Charitable giving as part of your estate plan, which can reduce the overall IHT liability.
Planning how to pay IHT efficiently, such as through life insurance or lifetime gifts to spouses.

All recommendations are tailored to your goals, risk tolerance, and family dynamics.

Will & Trust Planning Support

We help you structure your affairs so your wishes are carried out clearly and efficiently. This may involve:

Reviewing your existing will and suggesting updates
Structuring legacies to minimise tax where possible
Working alongside your solicitor to ensure legal documents match your tax plan
Considering trusts to protect vulnerable beneficiaries or complex family situations
Using trusts to protect assets from unnecessary taxation or risks

Business Owner Estate Planning

If you own a business, your estate planning must consider:

How and when ownership should pass
Who should control the business after you
Business reliefs and how to protect them
How to provide fairly for family members not involved in the business

We collaborate with your accountant and legal advisers to align tax, commercial, and family objectives. You may also want to consider using a family investment company to hold business assets separately from your personal assets, which can be an effective estate planning tool.

Support for Executors & Families

We can assist executors, administrators, and families with:

Understanding their responsibilities
Gathering information about the estate
Working with professional advisers to manage tax and paperwork
Helping executors understand and manage inheritance tax liabilities
Communicating clearly with beneficiaries

Our role is to reduce stress at a difficult time and help the process run smoothly.

Consult Now

Is Estate Tax Planning Right for You?

You don’t need to be ultra-wealthy to benefit from estate tax planning. It may be particularly important if:

You own one or more properties
You have significant savings or investments
You have children from previous relationships
You own a business or shares in a private company
You want to leave money to charity in a structured way
You are in a civil partnership or married, as this can affect your inheritance tax thresholds and eligibility for additional nil rate bands
You want to preserve the family home for future generations

Recent changes announced in the autumn budget may also impact estate planning strategies and available tax reliefs.

If you’re unsure whether you need advice, we can quickly help you understand whether your estate is likely to attract tax and what options you might have.

Our Approach

Clear

We explain estate tax in everyday language, so you always understand what we’re recommending and why.

Personal

No two families are the same. We take time to understand your assets, values, relationships, and goals before designing a plan.

Collaborative

We’re happy to work alongside your existing solicitor, accountant, or financial adviser to ensure everything fits together.

Proactive

We help you put a plan in place now, then review it when your circumstances or the law change.

What You Can Expect When You Work With HeirPlan

Initial Conversation

A no-obligation discussion to understand your situation, concerns, and objectives, and to outline how we can help.

Information & Analysis

We gather key details about your assets, family, and any existing arrangements. We then analyse your current estate tax position.

Personalised Plan

You receive a clear, written recommendation setting out:

Your likely estate tax exposure
Options to reduce or manage it
Strategies to minimize your inheritance tax bill, including tax-efficient planning methods
Practical steps and timescales

Implementation

We help you put the plan into action, working with other professionals where required.

Ongoing Review (Optional)

As your life changes, your estate plan should evolve. We can review your arrangements periodically to keep them aligned with your wishes and current rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a solicitor as well as HeirPlan?

We do not replace legal advice. In most cases, we work alongside your solicitor, accountant, and financial adviser so that your will, trusts, and tax planning are all aligned.

Will my family be involved in the process?

That’s entirely up to you. Many clients choose to involve key family members so everyone understands the reasoning behind the plan.

Can you help if I already have a will?

Yes. We regularly review existing wills and estate plans to check whether they still reflect your wishes and are tax-efficient under current rules.

How do trusts help reduce Inheritance Tax?

Trusts can remove certain assets from your estate for IHT purposes while still allowing you to control how and when they are used. By placing assets in a trust, you can reduce your IHT liability, as these assets may no longer be considered part of your estate after seven years, potentially lowering the inheritance tax owed. Trusts also help protect family wealth from misuse, divorce, or creditors.

Will I still have access to my assets if I put them into a trust?

It depends on the type of trust. Some trusts allow you to retain certain benefits, while others are designed to give up control to achieve tax advantages. We’ll explain the differences clearly and help you choose a structure that matches your goals, whether that’s tax efficiency, asset protection, or supporting a vulnerable beneficiary.

Do all trusts create a tax charge?

Not necessarily. Some trusts, such as bare trusts, have simpler tax treatments, while others may trigger entry, exit, or periodic charges. The tax impact varies based on the trust type and the value of assets transferred. Our role is to help you structure things in the most efficient way and avoid unnecessary charges.

Can I put my home into a trust to avoid Inheritance Tax?

This is possible in limited circumstances, but it must be handled very carefully. If you continue living in the property without paying a market rent, HMRC may treat it as still belonging to your estate, meaning no tax advantage is gained. We help you understand the risks, alternatives, and whether this approach is appropriate for your situation.

Ready to Talk?

If you’d like to understand how estate tax might affect your family, and what you can do about it, we’re here to help.

Contact HeirPlan today to arrange an initial conversation and start building a clear, tax-efficient plan for your legacy.