Inheritance tax advice: financial adviser, solicitor or accountant?
A financial adviser can help you assess how passing on wealth affects your own finances. A solicitor or tax specialist may also be needed for wills, trusts, estate administration or tax calculations. Start by establishing whether you are planning your estate, administering one or receiving an inheritance.
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Which inheritance question are you trying to answer?
| Your situation | Work to clarify | Professionals to consider |
|---|---|---|
| Planning what you leave | Your future spending, ownership, gifts and the projected estate. | A financial adviser, with legal and tax input where needed. |
| Dealing with an estate after a death | Valuations, reporting, the will and estate administration. | A probate professional or solicitor and a tax specialist where appropriate. |
| Receiving inherited money or assets | Your immediate commitments and longer-term plan. | A financial adviser for personal planning; a tax adviser for relevant tax questions. |
Source: GOV.UK: Inheritance Tax rules and allowances · GOV.UK: tax on money and assets you inherit
What can a financial adviser help you assess?
The financial planning starts with what you need to retain for your own life: income, housing, emergencies and possible care or family support. Ask the adviser to test the plan against different spending and investment assumptions before considering money available to give away.
An adviser may discuss financial planning options within the agreed service and coordinate with other professionals. The written scope should state who checks tax calculations and legal arrangements, what assumptions are being used and who carries out each action.
Why does a gift need more than a tax calculation?
A gift may change your access to money and control over it. Discuss affordability, the recipient’s circumstances and what would happen if either person’s plans changed. An apparent tax saving does not establish that a gift is suitable.
HMRC distinguishes exempt gifts, other lifetime gifts and gifts where the giver keeps a benefit. The seven-year rule is not a universal exemption for every arrangement. Ask which rules apply and keep records of the value, date, recipient and any continuing benefit. Trusts need separate legal and tax consideration.
What if you have already received an inheritance?
Receiving an inheritance is different from planning someone else’s estate. Inheritance Tax is usually dealt with through the estate, though exceptions can apply. Income or gains arising from inherited assets may create separate tax questions.
Once you know what is available to you and which liabilities remain, you can consider debts, near-term spending, pensions, investment risk and longer-term goals. There is no need to treat receipt of an inheritance as an instruction to buy an investment immediately.
What should you prepare before taking advice?
Rules and family circumstances can change. Ask what would trigger a review and keep the plan’s assumptions and source dates with the advice. The further discussion below covers future needs and the separately dated pension changes.
Test the plan against your own future needs
Before considering a gift or other planning step, identify resources needed for income, housing, support and uncertainty during your own life. A lower projected estate value is not a sufficient measure of success if the action leaves you unable to meet future commitments.
Ask which assumptions are legal, tax and financial, and who verifies each. Ownership, residence, family relationships, previous gifts and trust arrangements can change the assessment. A generic threshold calculation cannot resolve all of them.
HMRC's current technical note states that most unused pension funds and pension death benefits enter the estate for Inheritance Tax purposes for deaths on or after 6 April 2027, subject to the detailed rules and exclusions. Do not treat that future change as already applying to every death or as a reason for an automatic withdrawal or gift.
Keep a dated record of the facts, advice and implementation. Revisit the plan after material family or financial changes and relevant rule changes. The role of the adviser is to help assess suitable options within scope, with legal and tax professionals addressing the parts for which they are responsible.
Sources and further reading
GOV.UK: Inheritance Tax rules and allowances ↗
GOV.UK: gifts and Inheritance Tax ↗
GOV.UK: tax on money and assets you inherit ↗
