Goodness knows you have more than enough to organise when you’re preparing for a marriage. Not only is it a time filled with excitement and happiness - it’s also a hectic, busy time. All too often the financial implications of marriage (and of divorce and re-marriage) are overlooked, or not considered fully in the excitement.

People who have recently changed their marital status or who are planning such a change may have important financial and legal decisions to make. These decisions might deal with property ownership, providing for children’s welfare, post-death planning and day-to-day finances. You should always consult with your financial advisor to discuss the financial steps appropriate to a change in marital status.

If, at the other end of the scale, you are considering a divorce, it’s imperative that you take appropriate action to plan for the dissolution of the financial partnership in your marriage. Such dissolution involves dividing the financial assets you have accumulated during the years of marriage. If there are children involved, future support given to the custodial parent must be planned for. If you take the time and the correct measures now to prepare and plan for all eventualities, it will pay off later on. As always, you should seek the advice of your professional advisors to ensure you take the steps that are appropriate to your individual situation.

Preparing for the pitter-patter of little feet can be such an exciting, heady time that it can be easy to overlook some of the more serious issues relating to this event. As soon as you start your family, financial planning for the future becomes even more essential. How will you finance childcare, food, education, clothing, toys, and education savings? What will you need to spend money on and how much will each item cost? It’s important to take into consideration the ongoing costs associated with starting and raising a family. To get you started, here are some of the things you’ll need to factor into your financial planning:

• Nursery furniture and clothing
• Baby supplies and equipment
• Childcare
• Toys and clothes
• Education costs
• Extra curricular activities (e.g., ballet classes, school trips, sporting events and activities)
• Increased insurance

Be certain you’re well prepared. Talk with us today about how best to prepare for a life-changing event such as the birth of a child.

Why do we so often feel apprehensive when faced with the prospect of having to obtain financing? Whether it be for a new car, to buy property, or simply to fund a holiday – the art of obtaining financing has long been something that seems to have its own set of rules and laws. But does it need to be that way? Perhaps not, if you follow a few fundamental tips when applying for a loan.

To determine whether or not you qualify for a loan, many lenders will evaluate you by a mysterious point system. To make it even more of a mystery, they keep their rating systems close to their chest, so it can be hard for you to determine whether or not you’ll get the credit you’re hoping to.

Your salary or income will be taken into consideration. Your level of income may help you to pass the credit test, but you shouldn’t assume that it will automatically mean you are able to borrow any set amount. Income does not make you credit worthy, and lenders will assess your credit history before approving you.

You can be pretty well assured that you’ll be scored on the number and types of existing loans and credit cards you have. In fact, one of the ironies of obtaining financing is that it is a lot easier to do so once you’ve already used other types of credit. The most highly desired options for establishing a credit rating are travel and entertainment cards, followed by bank credit cards and department store charge cards. It is also helpful for you to have established a consistent record of paying your bills on time and card instalments on time. You should eliminate any credit cards you have that you don’t use because lenders could interpret your long list of cards as meaning that you have the potential to run up a lot of debt. You should be aware that traditionally lenders will take closer notice if you have a history of using finance providers for credit. Finance providers are known to carry a significant percentage of clients who present higher credit risks than most banks will accept. However, if you do have financing with an outfit such as this, and you have a solid payment history, you shouldn’t lose any additional points.

Also taken into account will be your current financial commitments. A rule of thumb guideline is that if more than 35% - 40% of your gross income goes into paying off current debts, including mortgage and car loan payments, lenders are not likely to approve your application. In general, you are better off if you own your home rather than rent, and if you already have a savings or current account (with a positive balance!).

In most countries, you are entitled to obtain a copy of your credit report if you are refused financing. Mistakes have been known to happen, so you may need to clear them up and re-apply. Or you could go to another lender. Each one has its own minimum standards, so you may find one that is prepared to take a greater risk in order to provide finance. Finally, if you are one of the fresh-faced, new to the credit world order, here are some tips you can take to establish a credit rating:

• Open and use a current account
• Start a savings account and make regular deposits (and minimum withdrawals!)
• Take out, use and repay promptly your bills on a department store credit card. Tip: Department store cards are usually easier to acquire than bank and credit cards, which generally require you to earn a certain minimum salary, and also have several other credit requirements.

In many cases where obtaining financing is required, it is important that your solicitor and accountant are involved from the start. Contact us if you’d like some assistance in determining how best to apply for financing, and to ensure that all the necessary steps are covered.

……… Don’t get hammered by Inheritance Tax

We believe that all individuals or couples with savings, property or life assurance should make provision for dependants and consider proper Inheritance Tax mitigation. A Will not only reflects a person’s wishes when they die but it also forms their final Inland Revenue return.

RELATIONSHIPS

People often believe, mistakenly, that everything passes to their spouse/Civil Partner if they die. This is incorrect. Your assets, if you die without a Will, are divided under the Law of Intestacy. These provisions do not always follow the wishes of the deceased and often create tax bills which could have been avoided.

It is imperative that you make a Will. If you have minor children and you die in an accident with your partner or you are a single parent, it is important that you decide who should act as the Guardians for your family. That person(s) will bring up your children as their own, after your death. You will also need to consider the appointment of Trustees to look after financial matters.

If you live with someone else but are not married, have you considered the consequences of your death? If you own a property jointly, do you wish your half share to pass to that individual? What about your other belongings, monies and insurance policies?

 ASSETS

To consider your position you need to value your Estate or joint wealth if you are married, at the time of your death. In the tax year 2009/2010 everyone is allowed to leave £325,000 (the nil rate band) before Inheritance Tax bites at 40%. With the value of property and the payment of lump sums by life policies, endowments and death benefits from work, many people who are not on the face of it obviously wealthy, face potentially very high Inheritance Tax bills.  The impact of this has been softened by permitting any unused part of the £325,000 nil rate band to be transferred to the surviving spouse, meaning that an estate of up to £650,000 will escape IHT, thus reducing the need for complex tax planning for many couples.

Rising house prices over the past 10 years have created a potential Inheritance Tax bill for thousands of families. The ability to transfer the unused part of the nil rate band after the death of the first spouse has reduced the need for tax avoidance strategies.

On almost every occasion, this should be written in Trust for Inheritance Tax purposes. It is a simple process and could save thousands of pounds.

There are a number of measures you can adopt to mitigate the potential Inheritance Tax bill your Estate may face when you die. If the tax is avoidable, why pay the Government? Protect your capital!

Complete the Will and Tax Planning Questionnaire and send it to us.

We will assess your position and advise you whether anything can be done to significantly reduce Inheritance Tax. If you decide to take the matter further we will quote you a fee to advise on tax efficient provisions to be included in your Will, and can recommend a solicitor if you need one. We will also advise you on measures that could be taken whilst you are alive and kicking to save Inheritance Tax.

For further information, please fill out our contact form or call us on 020 8577 1000 or email value@csuk.com

Life Insurance

The retirement safety nets that have existed in the past like Social Security really are becoming a thing of the past. Worse yet, even if they were set in stone they're not likely to provide enough for the lifestyle you'd like to enjoy with your grandchildren and hopefully great grandchildren!

Add to that the fact that we are all living longer, so we’re dependent on the income we generate throughout our working lives for many more years than previously thought - clearly retirement planning is vital.

Retirement planning is not a luxury – it is an absolute necessity. You have to think about how much you'll need, when to retire, how to achieve enough retirement income to enjoy the lifestyle you want for your later years and what will the government have to contribute, if anything?

We take into account your current lifestyle, income levels, projected income leading up to retirement and create a plan that is going to support your needs now and in retirement. While it is hard to predict what the future holds, it's easy to ensure that yours has at a very minimum the lifestyle you know you want. Talk with one of our specialist team members today on how best to prepare for a comfortable retirement.

Charles Stuart are specialists in dealing with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Aspect Enquiries, full Tax Investigations and Special Compliance Office Investigations. Our team consists of chartered accountants and experienced staff who have worked on investigation assignments for many years. Our expertise in previous cases has often resulted in taxpayers bearing no additional tax at all. Where tax has been underpaid we frequently manage to negotiate low penalties and overall settlement figures.

We provide the highest standards of professionalism in terms of both advice and expertise in handling HMRC enquiries into your affairs. We can manage the investigation in full, liaising with HMRC and preparing all disclosures required, conducting all negotiations over tax, penalties, interest and settlement terms with the Inspector.

Provided there has been no fraud by the taxpayer and they have taken up our Tax Enquiry Insurance, our fees for dealing with the enquiry are paid for by insurers.

For help with any Inland Revenue enquiry click here to contact us.

HMRC have the resources to open an enquiry into the return of any taxpayer and reasons for opening an enquiry no longer need to be given. With random enquiries and computer generated aspect enquiries the likelihood of an enquiry is greater than ever.

Even if you are completely exonerated, the fees to defend such enquiries can be substantial. The importance of considering insurance against this eventuality has never been as high as today.

In order to protect your interests, we have a Tax Enquiry Insurance Scheme in place. All participating clients who are selected for enquiry will have the professional fees resulting from the enquiry paid by the insurer. An enquiry can incur professional fees of many thousands of pounds even if the enquiry does not result in any further tax due.

The insurance covers an individual or business against professional fees incurred by representing the client during a formal enquiry opened into their tax return and/or accounts by HMRC. It also includes fees incurred during VAT, PAYE and NIC disputes. For each insured business, the personal tax returns of the directors, members, partners and their spouses are also covered provided that Charles Stuart prepares the tax returns for those individuals.

The scheme is managed by Qdos Consulting and underwritten by NIG Plc. An important additional benefit is the inclusion of unlimited telephone access to the Qdos specialists on any matter relating to employment and health & safety law and its associated compliance requirements. This is an area of law that has seen an unprecedented number of legislative changes over the past few years, resulting in a huge burden on business managers. For many of our clients, access to this help-line more than justifies the premium payable.

By researching the market and attaining volume discounts on premiums we are able to provide a low cost insurance product that we strongly recommend clients should take advantage of.

We feel that it is important to point out that if you hold a similar policy from another source, it is very possible that, in the event of a claim, our fees will not be allowed. Instead, people who currently have no personal knowledge of your tax affairs will deal with the matter. In order to ensure that we are able to act for you in the event of a Tax Enquiry, this insurance should be taken out in preference.

 For help with any HMRC enquiry click here to contact us.