Protecting Your Business. Securing Your Legacy.
As a business owner your estate is significantly more complex than most. Without specialist planning your business, your family and everything you have built could be at serious risk. We combine professional estate planning with qualified tax advisory expertise to protect what you have worked so hard to build.
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Without a valid Will your business may be forced into sale on death to cover IHT liability
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Business assets above the IHT threshold face a 40% tax charge without proper BPR planning
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Without a succession plan your business partners or co-directors may face significant legal and financial disruption
The Risk Of Doing Nothing
Business owners face estate planning risks that most people simply never have to consider. The consequences of inadequate planning can be devastating — not just for your family but for your business, your employees and everything you have built.
Building a successful business takes years of hard work, sacrifice and dedication. Yet some business owners in the UK have no Will, no succession plan and no IHT strategy in place — leaving everything they have built dangerously exposed.
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No Will In Place - Without a valid Will your estate including your business interests passes under intestacy rules. This may mean your business shares or partnership interest passing to someone with no knowledge of or interest in the business, potentially forcing a sale or causing irreparable damage to trading relationships.
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No Succession Plan - Who takes over your role in the business when you are gone? Without a clear legally documented succession plan your business may face a leadership vacuum at its most vulnerable moment — potentially destroying the value you have spent years building.
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No BPR Planning - Business Property Relief can deliver up to 100% IHT relief on qualifying business assets — but only if your estate is structured correctly and your Will is drafted to maximise it. Without proper planning your family may face a 40% IHT charge on your business assets forcing a sale to cover the liability.
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No Shareholder Protection - If you have business partners or co-directors, what happens to their shares on death? Without a shareholder protection agreement in place your co-director's spouse or family could become your new business partner overnight — with potentially catastrophic consequences.
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No LPA For Business Affairs - If you lose mental capacity without a Property and Financial Affairs LPA in place nobody has the legal authority to manage your business interests on your behalf — potentially bringing trading to a halt.
The good news is that every single one of these risks is entirely preventable with the right planning in place. At Heritance Planning we specialise in helping business owners address all of these issues comprehensively — combining estate planning expertise with qualified tax advisory knowledge to give you complete peace of mind.
Our Business Owner Services
A complete estate planning and tax advisory service built specifically for business owners. Every service is delivered by a qualified tax adviser with over 10 years of corporate and personal tax experience.
Director Wills
A professionally drafted Will that specifically addresses your business assets, shareholdings, partnership interests and the continuation of trading. Far beyond a standard Will.
Shareholder Protection
Ensuring your business partners or co-directors can acquire your shares on death without disruption — structured correctly for both tax efficiency and legal certainty.
Business Property Relief Planning
We identify your BPR eligibility, structure your estate to maximise the relief available and ensure your Will is drafted correctly to deliver up to 100% IHT relief on qualifying assets.
Lasting Power of Attorney
Appointing trusted individuals to manage your business and personal financial affairs if you ever lose capacity — essential for every business owner.
Succession Planning
A legally sound succession plan that protects your business, identifies your successor, minimises tax and ensures continuity of trading at the most vulnerable moment.
Exit & Retirement Planning
Planning to sell or retire from your business? We ensure your estate plan reflects the anticipated proceeds and puts strategies in place to manage the resulting tax exposure effectively.
Business Property Relief — A Powerful Tax Planning Option
Business Property Relief (BPR) is one of the most valuable and yet most underutilised reliefs available in UK tax law. When structured correctly it can deliver up to 100% relief from Inheritance Tax on qualifying business assets — potentially saving your family hundreds of thousands of pounds.
However BPR is not automatic. It must be claimed correctly, your estate must be structured to maximise it and your Will must be drafted specifically to ensure the relief is available and applied properly on death.
At Heritance Planning we bring qualified tax advisory expertise to every business owner estate plan — ensuring your BPR position is fully assessed, correctly documented and maximised as part of a comprehensive plan.
What Qualifies For BPR:
- ✅Sole trader business assets
- ✅Partnership interests
- ✅Shares in unlisted companies
- ✅ Shares in AIM listed companies
- ✅ Assets used in a qualifying business
What Does Not Qualify:
- ❌ Investment companies and property investment businesses
- ❌ Assets not used wholly for business purposes
- ❌ Businesses held for less than two years
- ❌ Excepted assets — cash and investments held above business needs
Key BPR Planning Points:
- 💡 BPR must be actively claimed — it is not applied automatically
- 💡 Your Will must be drafted to maximise BPR — a standard Will may not achieve this
- 💡 The two year ownership requirement must be met at the date of death
- 💡 HMRC scrutinises BPR claims closely — professional advice is essential
BPR planning is one of the most technically complex areas of estate planning — and one where qualified tax advisory expertise makes an enormous difference. We ensure your BPR position is correctly assessed and maximised as part of every business owner estate plan.
Succession Planning For Business Owners
Succession planning is one of the most important and most frequently neglected aspects of business ownership. Who takes over when you are gone? How is the transition managed? How is the business valued? Who has the authority to make decisions in the interim?
Without clear legally documented answers to these questions your business faces its most vulnerable moment entirely unprepared.
At Heritance Planning we work with business owners to put comprehensive succession plans in place that protect the business, minimise disruption, reduce tax liability and ensure your wishes are carried out exactly as you intend.
What A Comprehensive Succession Plan Covers:
✅ Identifying Your Successor Whether a family member, existing employee or external buyer — we ensure your chosen successor is legally documented and empowered to act immediately.
✅ Business Valuation Planning — Ensuring your estate plan reflects an accurate and up to date valuation of your business interests, which is critical for both IHT planning and succession purposes.
✅ Management Continuity — Putting legal structures in place to ensure the business continues trading smoothly during the transition period whillst protecting revenue, relationships and reputation.
✅ Family Provision — Ensuring your family is financially provided for without necessarily becoming involved in the day to day running of the business allowing you to balance business continuity with family protection.
✅ Tax Efficient Transfer — Structuring the transfer of business ownership as tax efficiently as possible, maximising BPR, minimising CGT and ensuring the transition does not trigger an unnecessary tax liability.
✅ Buy and Sell Agreements — Legally binding agreements between business partners or shareholders ensuring a smooth and tax efficient transfer of ownership on death or incapacity.
Director Wills — Beyond The Standard Will
A standard Will is completely insufficient for a business owner. Every director, partner and sole trader needs a professionally drafted Will that specifically addresses their business interests and the tax implications of transferring them.
Most business owners who have a Will in place have a standard document that was drafted without any consideration of their business assets, shareholdings or partnership interests. This is a serious and potentially very costly oversight.
A Director Will goes significantly further — addressing every aspect of your business interests as part of a comprehensive and tax efficient estate plan.
Business Asset Protection
Your Will specifically addresses all business assets — shares, partnership interests, intellectual property, business property and equipment — ensuring they are dealt with correctly and tax efficiently on death.
Shareholding Provisions
Clear legally documented provisions for the transfer of your shareholding on death; whether to a family member, business partner or external buyer — structured to maximise BPR and minimise disruption.
Partnership Interests
If you are in a business partnership your Will must address your partnership interest specifically — including any partnership agreement provisions and the tax implications of the transfer.
Business Continuity Clauses
Specific provisions ensuring the business can continue trading immediately following your death — protecting revenue, client relationships and employee security during the transition period.
Tax Efficient Structuring
Every Director Will is drafted with your full tax position in mind — maximising BPR, addressing CGT implications and ensuring the overall estate plan is as tax efficient as possible.
Regular Review
Your business changes — and so should your Will. We recommend an annual review of every Director Will to ensure it remains current, relevant and tax efficient as your business evolves.
A Director Will is not a luxury — it is an essential document for every business owner. The cost of getting it wrong vastly outweighs the cost of getting it right.
Our Process
Getting your business estate plan in place is simpler than you think. Our streamlined process is designed to be efficient, thorough and completely hassle free.
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Free Consultation
Book your free 30 minute video consultation. We take the time to understand your business structure, personal circumstances and estate planning objectives before recommending anything. No obligation — just expert advice.
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Bespoke Estate Plan
Following your consultation we build a comprehensive bespoke estate plan covering your Will, LPA, succession plan, BPR strategy and any trust or tax planning requirements. Every plan is tailored specifically to your business and personal circumstances.
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Implementation & Protection
Your documents are professionally drafted, reviewed and delivered securely through our client portal. Sign digitally from anywhere. Your business and personal estate are now comprehensively protected.
🔒 Fully secure and confidential. All documents stored safely in our client portal. Most business owner estate plans completed within 7 working days.
Fast Turnaround
Most plans completed within 7 working days
Remote Service
Video consultations available worldwide
Fixed Starting Price
Fees agreed upfront — no surprises
Why Choose Heritance Planning For Your Business Estate Plan
We bring something genuinely different to business owner estate planning — qualified tax expertise and corporate tax experience built into every plan from the ground up.
Qualified Tax Adviser
Our founder is a qualified tax adviser with over 10 years of personal and corporate tax experience. We understand business structures, shareholdings and the complex tax implications of transferring business assets on death.
Corporate Tax Experience
Over 10 years of corporate tax experience means we understand your business from the inside — not just the estate planning implications but the underlying tax structure and how it interacts with your personal estate plan.
Comprehensive Approach
We never look at your business estate plan in isolation. We assess your full position — business assets, personal assets, family circumstances and tax exposure — and build a plan that addresses everything comprehensively.
Proactive Planning
We don't wait for problems to arise — we identify them before they happen. Every business owner estate plan includes a proactive tax planning strategy designed to protect your wealth and minimise liability at every stage.
Your Business Deserves Better Than A Standard Will
Every day without a comprehensive business estate plan is a day your business, your family and everything you have built is unnecessarily at risk. Book your free no obligation consultation today and let us protect what matters most.
✅ Free 30 minute consultation — no obligation whatsoever
✅ Qualified tax adviser with over 10 years corporate tax experience
✅ Most business owner estate plans completed within 7 working days
Or email us directly at hello@heritanceplanning.com
All enquiries responded to within 24 hours.
All fees agreed transparently following your free consultation. Starting prices available on our pricing page.