Solicitors

Our advisers can help in client cases across a wide range of areas:

Collaborative Law/Pensions in Divorce

Our Managing Director, Carl Lamb, became one of the first IFAs to be awarded Resolution accreditation by the Law Society, which qualifies him to provide advice in Collaborative Law cases.  This helps us to forge further professional relationships with law firms in the region.  We now have a total of four Resolution Accredited advisers: Carl Lamb, Roy Durrant, Fiona Sharp and Stephanie Clark.

A Collaborative accredited IFA works closely with the Family Law Solicitor in gathering the correct information in a timely and efficient way.  As both our accredited advisers are pension transfer specialists, we can help speed up the advice settlement process.

Inheritance Tax Planning

We work closely with solicitors to ensure that clients have the best possible planning measures in place to reduce their exposure to Inheritance Tax.  For example:

• How is the client’s property owned?  If it’s in joint ownership, has the ownership been set up to take advantage of each co-owner’s nil rate band?
• Is the client making the most of all the family’s tax free allowances?
• Could trusts be used to ring-fence assets so that they are not taken into account when inheritance tax is due?
• Would an insurance based policy or trust that pays out on death to cover inheritance tax be the right solution for the client?

Long Term Care

Many clients or their families like to take legal advice when considering the option of going into long term care.  We will liaise with the solicitor to ensure that the terms of any care plan proposed are properly understood by all concerned. 

It may also be appropriate for the family to invoke or establish the necessary power of attorney to protect the individual going into care and, again, we will work closely with the solicitors involved to allow the care arrangements to proceed without hitch.

Personal Injury

We can offer investment advice to clients who have been successful in personal injury claims, based on their need for capital growth or income. 

Trustee Investments

Those responsible for trusts may need advice on the best investment vehicles for the funds held in the trust.  We will explore the needs of the trust, whether they’re for overall capital growth or the provision of an income for the trust beneficiaries.

Mortgage/Conveyancing

Our mortgage advisers work closely with conveyancing teams in order to ensure the availability of the finance arranged for the client on the completion of property purchase. 

Equity Release

It is clearly critical that we have good lines of communication with the legal teams working with clients planning to enter into an equity release arrangement.  Our role is to liaise with both solicitor and plan provider, working with each party to obtain the necessary reassurances that the client understands the arrangement being proposed and is adopting it without pressure from anyone else.  We also work with both parties to ensure that the conveyancing process is smooth and problem-free.