On 14 May 2019, Caroline Miller and Clare Armitage from our Private Client Team, Conrad Adam from our Family Team and Edward Craft from Corporate, hosted a seminar on Estate Planning for the Complex Client. The seminar was centered around a case study of a deceased person who left behind a spouse and children with assets including a property in France, and a crypto currency account.
The case study was used to highlight:
- the need to leave details of your private key for any crypto currency account with your executors/digital executors and generally prepare an inventory of all your digital assets;
- the importance of having a suitable Will in place to cover your foreign assets and have regard to the rules under EU Succession Law;
- when drafting a Will, considering the needs of all beneficiaries including whether sufficient sums have been left to ensure no one feels they need to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975;
- the importance of a prenuptial agreement before a child, who is inheriting large sums from a parent, enters into a marriage;
- in terms of lifetime estate planning, whether a family investment company as an alternative to a trust structure may be suitable.
These issues often cross over several different areas of law but Wedlake Bell are able to provide coordinated advice on all aspects of complex estate planning.