Intergenerational Wealth Management

What We Can Help With

Tax-efficient gifting

Gifting during your lifetime can reduce a future Inheritance Tax bill, but the rules are specific. Gifts of up to £3,000 a year (or £6,000 if you didn’t use last year’s allowance) are exempt immediately. Larger gifts are called potentially exempt transfers: they fall outside your estate entirely if you survive seven years and are taxed on a reducing scale (known as taper relief) if you die between three and seven years after making them. Regular gifts made from surplus income, rather than capital, can also be exempt straight away, provided they don’t reduce your standard of living and are documented properly, since HMRC will want evidence of the pattern if the exemption is ever queried.

Pensions and passing on wealth

Pensions have historically sat outside a person’s estate for Inheritance Tax purposes, making them a valuable tool for passing on wealth. From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits will instead be included in the value of an estate for Inheritance Tax, as confirmed in the Finance Act 2026. Pensions passing to a surviving spouse or civil partner remain exempt. This is a significant, time-sensitive change for anyone currently relying on pensions as an estate planning tool, and it’s worth reviewing your plans against it well before it takes effect.

Helping family onto the property ladder

A cashflow model shows whether a specific gift is affordable, both now and into the future, before the money changes hands. It’s a question we see increasingly often as house prices have made it harder for younger family members to get on the property ladder without help, and one that can be answered by modelling what the financial future could look like.

Business succession

Handing over control of a family business raises both financial and Inheritance Tax questions. Business Property Relief can reduce or remove Inheritance Tax on qualifying business assets, but from 6 April 2026, 100% relief was capped at £2.5 million combined with any agricultural property, with 50% relief above that threshold. Find out more about how we can help with this: Financial Advice for Business Owners & Executives.

Family investment companies

For larger estates, a family investment company can be used to protect, grow, or pass on assets to family members, giving you continued influence over how the money is invested and used while shifting future growth outside your own estate. Shares can be structured with different rights, so parents might retain voting control while children hold shares that benefit from future growth. It’s a more involved structure than simple gifting, requiring expert legal and tax advice.  It won’t suit every family, but can be a powerful tool where it is suitable, particularly for larger, more complex estates.

Supporting difficult family conversations

Discussing money across generations can be uncomfortable, and sometimes disagreements will arise.  We support these conversations directly, so that everyone understands the plans being put in place which helps to reduce the risk of disputes later.

A common misconception: “Gifting money removes it from my estate straight away”

Most lifetime gifts are potentially exempt transfers, not immediately exempt ones. They only fall fully outside your estate if you survive seven years from the date of the gift. If you die within three years the gift is taxed at the full 40% rate (above your available nil-rate band).  If you die between three and seven years, taper relief reduces the tax rate on a sliding scale. Only the £3,000 annual exemption, gifts from surplus income, and a small number of other specific exemptions are immediately free of Inheritance Tax.

A related, equally common assumption is that gifting is an all-or-nothing decision made once. In practice, most effective intergenerational planning happens gradually, over years, combining the annual exemption, income-based gifting, and occasional larger potentially exempt transfers, reviewed regularly rather than decided in a single sitting.

How We Approach Intergenerational Wealth Planning

1. Understanding your situation and your family’s: what you want to achieve, and what matters to the people you’re planning to help.
2. Modelling what’s affordable: a cashflow model shows exactly how much you can give without compromising your own future security.
3. Structuring the gift or plan tax-efficiently: using annual exemptions, potentially exempt transfers, trusts, or a family investment company as appropriate.
4. Coordinating with your Will: working with our Wills, Trusts and Probate team so lifetime gifts and your Will work together, not against each other.

Because gifting decisions are largely irreversible, we deliberately take time to understand you and your objectives to make sure that you are achieving your goals, whilst retaining financial security for the future.

Why Choose Nelsons for Intergenerational Wealth Planning

• Holistic Advice and Collaboration: As part of a full-service law firm, we seamlessly integrate both the financial and legal aspects to create comprehensive solutions, saving you valuable time. We can also work with your existing accountant, solicitors or other advisers if you wish.
• Unbiased Expertise: As independent financial advisers, we are not tied to any product providers or banks, which allows us to offer you truly unbiased and objective advice, meticulously tailored to your specific needs.
• Advice with genuine technical depth behind it: several of our advisers, including Zoe Till, who heads our team, hold Chartered Financial Planner status through the Personal Finance Society, the industry’s recognised marker of technical depth and professional standards.
• Our charges aren’t linked to your investments: we charge a fixed fee for our services, based on the complexity of the work involved. You’ll receive a fee quote before we undertake any work, so you know exactly what to expect.
• Determining the right fit: The initial consultation allows us to understand your needs and objectives in greater detail, while giving you the opportunity to decide whether our service and expertise are aligned with what you are looking for.
• Rigorous Investment Oversight: Our investment committee meets on a regular basis to diligently review and research our model portfolios. You can rest assured your investments are in capable hands.
• Local and Ongoing Support: offices in Derby, Leicester and Nottingham mean we are available for face-to-face conversations. You can also contact your adviser and our support team at any time and review your finances via our dedicated Portal.
• Real protection if something goes wrong: we are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (No. 523173).  This means you have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme which is, protection you don’t get from unregulated advice.

Ready to Start Wealth Planning?

Now you understand how we can help, take the next step and speak to our team today.

• Call: 0800 024 1976
• Online: our enquiry form