G rant Buchanan, Partner Bland discusses why the firm decided to launch the initiative and gives Adviser his views on why he thinks financial awareness around IHT is becoming increasingly important. Firstly, congratulations Grant on your appointment as Partner. The IHT roadshows have been running for over a year now, what was the reasoning behind these events and why embark on them now? Grant: Thank you! I was delighted to join the Partnership at an exciting time. Yes, since we launched the roadshows we have held events from Aldeburgh down to Felixstowe and from Frinton to Framingham, and pretty much everywhere in between! Last year it became apparent that both our financial planning and tax teams were seeing an increase in clients looking for ways in which they could protect their estates by reducing their inheritance liabilities and protect the assets they had planned to leave their families. With this in mind, we decided to ‘hit the road’ and to go out and about in order to let people know that there are ways to protect the estate they have worked so hard to build up. and Chartered Independent Financial Planner at Scrutton
Where can people find out more? Grant: we are planning more events - we have one in Ipswich at the end of November and are in discussions for others in Halstead and Sudbury. Register your interest at events@scruttonbland.co.uk or tel 01206 838400 , or check the Events Diary on our website www.scruttonbland.co.uk. If you need to speak to me or one of the financial planning team please call me on 01206 838436 or email grant.buchanan@ scruttonbland.co.uk. Finally, it’s worth remembering that at Scrutton Bland we can offer a joined up service, bringing together the expertise and experience of our financial planning, tax and insurance teams to help you manage your financial and investment portfolios.
Isn’t inheritance tax (IHT) traditionally something which only the very wealthy have to worry about? Grant: Well, ‘wealth’ is subjective and can mean different things to do different people, but what we have seen over the past few years is a significant increase in property prices and personal investments. This in turn means that the estates of many people now fall within the inheritance tax threshold. There has been a lot of coverage in the press regarding IHT, and understandably many people want to find out more about the planning options available to them. Isn’t it just people in their ‘autumnal’ years who need to understand IHT and planning for later life? Grant: Absolutely not. If you come along to one of our events you will see a cross section of ages. Some older family members bring their (grown up) children and people in their middle age are starting to plan for the future. The youngest person we’ve provided IHT advice to had just turned eighteen! The roadshows also cover the importance of writing a will, and setting up a power of attorney – which is important for everyone, at every stage of their life.
F I N A N C I A L P L A N N I N G | S C R U T T O N B L A N D | 2 5
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