The Wills, Tax & Trusts Group
At your side today, for tomorrow
Welcome to the Wills, Tax & Trusts Group. Based in Hurst, near Wokingham and Reading, we offer our tailored services to the local community throughout Berkshire and the Thames Valley region.
For years, our financial planners have organised the wealth of our diverse portfolio of clients, to ensure their families, businesses, and estates thrive for decades to come.
Start your journey towards a brighter, protected future today.
Our Services
Will Drafting
We provide professional advice and assistance in the drafting process of secure legal wills, ensuring your assets are protected in your lifetime and for generations to come.
Trust Management
Set up a trust fund from as little as £10. All our trusts can be used in your lifetime, and offer ultimate flexibility to suit your needs. As a trustee, you’re in control of how the trust is run, used, and distributed.
Tax Planning
We analyse and manage your financial affairs to guarantee you pay the most reasonable tax on your income and savings – no matter how high or low your net worth is.
Inheritance Tax Planning
An individual can pass on wealth up to £325,000, and a couple up to £650,000, without paying tax. On anything above, HMRC will take 40%. Our trusted advisors strive to reduce the impact of Inheritance Tax on your beneficiaries.
Lasting Power of Attorney
Power of attorney gives an individual the legal right to make financial decisions for you, or act on your behalf, if you’re mentally or physically unable. We put your best interests first, helping you bestow the right powers into the right hands.
Our Team of Legal Experts
At the head of our board of exceptional financial planners is Managing Director, Ray Best. With a career spanning over 30 years as a financial advisor, Ray is also a proud lifetime member of America’s Million Dollar Round Table, an independent association of more than 42,000 of the world’s leading life insurance and financial services professionals.
Your future’s in good hands.
Get in Touch
What our clients have to say
“Ray Best & his Team are very professional but also very personable Ray help us through the minefield of Wills & Trusts to secure our family interests and now looks after our interests in pension investments – we now feel much better looked after and have good visibility would highly recommend.”
– John Childs
“Ray and his team did a wonderful job for my wife and I with our wills and trusts as he has with all our affairs. A great weight off our minds knowing we are in professional and expert hands.”
— Richard Cameron
“They have helped me through the complexities of inheritance tax planning with multiple properties and investments, with probate and with building the value of my investments through the COVID crisis. Wills Tax and Trusts are always responsive and professional. I have never had more confidence in a financial advisor.”
– Martin Beasley
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between a financial planner and a financial advisor?
In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates financial advisors, whereas there is no single body regulating financial planners. Financial planners are independent, and help individuals and organisations strategise to create and meet long-term financial goals via different financial products. Financial advisors also help their clients achieve short-term and long-term goals, but the term is broader, encapsulating bankers, wealth managers and brokers.
At Wills, Tax & Trusts, we use a blended approach, gathering expertise from both financial planners and advisors, to create a bespoke strategy tailored to your needs.
Which type of financial planner is best?
The best, most trusted type of financial planner is one who can provide recognised, relevant qualifications. In the UK, a legitimate financial planner will have an official bachelor’s degree (AQF7 level), or above, and an approved graduate diploma (AQF8 level). The highest globally recognised certification available to the UK’s financial planners is the Certified Financial Planner, or Chartered Financial Planner.
How much does it cost to have a financial advisor?
Depending on the firm/individual, and the circumstances of the client, the typical fee for a financial advisor is somewhere between 0.25% and 1% of the assets under management. However, it’s always best to get in touch with a potential advisor directly and ask for a quote, or a breakdown of their fees.
Contact us today for more information.
Do I really need a financial planner?
If you care about how your money is invested to create a more stable future for you, your family, and/or your business, then a financial planner or advisor is invaluable. Especially so for those who are uncertain about, or would like further insight into, how to manage their money and assets to their best advantage.