Fernleigh Wearden & Company Ltd
Independent Financial Advisers
Four fields. That’s it.
One of our advisers will ring you back by the end of the next working day, at the time you asked for.
In a hurry? Call us on 01772 864314, 9am–5pm Monday to Friday.
For individuals
Inheritance tax is one of the few taxes that genuinely rewards planning early and punishes a lack of planning. The calendar does a great deal of the work.
Overview
Most people assume estate planning is for the very wealthy. Rising house prices have quietly brought a great many ordinary Lancashire families within reach of it.
The work is rarely exotic. It is usually a matter of establishing what your estate is actually worth, checking which allowances you and your spouse can use between you and then deciding whether you want to do anything about the difference.
Sometimes the answer is that you would rather keep control of your money and accept the tax. That is an entirely legitimate decision and we will not push you off it. What we will do is make sure it is a decision rather than an accident.
Farming families in particular. The changes to inheritance tax relief on agricultural property have made planning considerably more pressing for farms around Preston. We advise a number of local farming families and this is now one of the more urgent conversations we have.
Timing is the whole game. Some of the most effective planning depends on surviving seven years from making a gift. Every year you wait is a year of that clock you do not get back.
Advice areas
It is a broader subject than inheritance tax alone and the non-tax parts often matter more to families.
Property, pensions, investments, business assets and life policies not written in trust. The number usually surprises people.
The standard allowance and the residence nil-rate band and how a surviving spouse can inherit unused portions of both.
What you can give away, when it falls outside your estate and the annual exemptions most people never use.
Keeping some control over money you have given away, or providing for beneficiaries who are young or vulnerable.
Written in trust, a policy pays outside your estate and reaches your family faster. It costs nothing extra to arrange.
Pension pots can often pass on very tax-efficiently — but only where the nominations have actually been completed.
Working with us
Nothing is committed until step five and the first two cost you nothing but time.
A chat, at our office, your home or over video. We listen, you ask questions. There is no charge and no obligation and if we can't help we'll say so.
What you have, what you owe, what you want and how you feel about risk. This is the part most people find surprisingly useful in itself.
We review your existing plans, charges and funds against the whole of the market. Being independent means nothing is off the table.
A written report in plain English setting out what we suggest, what it costs and why. You take it away and think about it.
Only once you're happy. We handle the paperwork, the providers and the chasing, which is usually the tedious bit.
If you'd like us to, we'll review everything at least once a year and tell you honestly if nothing needs changing.
Who you’d be dealing with
Any of the three can advise on estate planning, though more complex work usually sits with Mark, our Chartered Financial Planner. Trust work may involve your solicitor too and we are happy to work alongside them.
In their words
Fernleigh Wearden & Company Ltd have been our financial advisers for over 30 years. They are easy to contact and sort out our requests promptly. I would have no hesitation in recommending them to friends and family.
Paul has always explained financial advice in the simplest ways so that I can understand and therefore can make a financial decision with confidence. Fernleigh Wearden & Company also advised me on my parent’s affairs after my mum died and lately my dad, which was done with the least fuss. Even the solicitor wanted to speak to him she was so impressed with their work.
Both Sue and I would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks for all the financial planning and advice you have undertaken for us over the past 30 years. The expertise and attention to detail with which you, Paul and lately Mark have handled our financial affairs could not be faulted. Particularly reassuring to us is our feeling of certainty in the absolute integrity and commitment of all our dealings.
Often relevant alongside this
Life cover written in trust is one of the simplest estate planning tools there is.
Read more Often nextWhere the money sits affects how it is taxed on the way out as well as along the way.
Read more Worth readingCharges for trust and estate work may be higher than standard. We will always tell you first.
Read moreCommon questions
It depends on the value of your estate and your circumstances. Many families who assume they are nowhere near the threshold find that property has taken them closer than expected. A conversation costs nothing and settles the question.
Sometimes, but not without thinking it through. Giving away money you might need later is a serious risk and gifts generally need you to survive seven years to fall fully outside your estate. There are also annual exemptions that work immediately.
No — that is a solicitor’s job and you should have one. We work alongside your solicitor and if you do not have one we can suggest where to look. Financial planning and the will need to say the same thing.
A legal arrangement where someone holds money on behalf of someone else. It lets you give money away for tax purposes while keeping some say over when and how beneficiaries receive it. Useful for young children and for protecting money from divorce or bankruptcy.
No and often the tax is the smaller part. Getting money to the right people quickly, avoiding family disputes and providing for someone vulnerable all matter regardless of whether there is any tax due at all.
The first meeting is free. Charges for complex work such as trusts and estate planning may be higher than our standard rates — we will tell you what it will cost before we begin. See our costs page.
Our services
Advice areas overlap. Part of our job is spotting which ones actually apply to you.
Tell us when suits and an adviser will ring you back by the end of the next working day.
