This page provides general information about the services offered by MP Estate Planning UK Ltd. The Company is an estate planning consultancy registered in England and Wales (Companies House number 14774020). The Company is not a law firm and is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority; where work for a client requires regulated advice, the Company introduces the client to professionals who are appropriately authorised, including SRA-regulated solicitors (Feakes & Co Ltd, SRA number 654837), Chartered Tax Advisers, and FCA-authorised financial advisers.
What the Company provides
The Company’s services may be grouped into three areas, summarised below in general terms. Whether any particular service is suitable for an individual depends on that individual’s circumstances and, in many cases, will require advice from a regulated professional before any documents are signed or any action is taken.
1. Initial consultation and estate planning discussion
The Company offers an initial consultation at no charge. The initial consultation is a general discussion in which the Company seeks to understand the client’s family circumstances, the assets they hold, what they would like to happen on their death, and any concerns they may have (for example, about inheritance tax, the cost of long-term care, or providing for a vulnerable family member).
An initial consultation is information-gathering. No advice — legal, tax or financial — is given at this stage, and no documents are signed at this stage.
2. Information about wills, lifetime gifts and trusts
Following the initial consultation, the Company may provide general information about the legal frameworks that apply to wills, lifetime gifts and trusts in England and Wales — including the formalities required under the Wills Act 1837, the general operation of UK inheritance tax under the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (including the nil-rate band of £325,000, the residence nil-rate band of £175,000, and the transferable allowances between spouses and civil partners), and the general operation of trusts under English and Welsh trust law.
This is general information. It is not advice on whether any particular client should make a will, make a lifetime gift, or settle a trust.
3. Introductions to regulated professionals
Where the work to be carried out for the client requires regulated advice, the Company makes the relevant introduction.
- Drafting of wills, trust deeds and certain other legal documents, and the giving of regulated legal advice, are work that is generally carried out by an SRA-regulated solicitor. The Company works with Feakes & Co Ltd (SRA number 654837) for matters of this kind.
- Complex tax advice — for example, on the use of business property relief or agricultural property relief, on lifetime gifts above the annual allowance, or on certain trust taxation matters — is generally carried out by a Chartered Tax Adviser who is a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
- Regulated financial advice — for example, on investments, pension transfers, or certain insurance products such as whole-of-life policies written in trust to fund an IHT liability — is provided by a financial adviser authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.
What the Company does not provide
For the avoidance of doubt:
- The Company does not draft wills or trust deeds in-house. Where a will or trust deed is to be drafted, that work is carried out by an SRA-regulated solicitor.
- The Company does not give regulated legal advice. Where regulated legal advice is required, it is given by an SRA-regulated solicitor.
- The Company does not give regulated financial advice. Where regulated financial advice is required, it is given by an FCA-authorised adviser.
- The Company does not act as trustee in client trust arrangements.
Fees
The Company generally charges a flat fee for its consultancy services. Fees are disclosed in writing in advance of any engagement. The fees of the regulated firms involved in any client matter are separate from any fee charged by the Company and are disclosed separately by the relevant regulated firm.
Initial consultations are offered at no charge and there is no obligation on a prospective client to instruct the Company at the end of an initial consultation.
Areas in which the Company commonly works
By way of background — and noting that whether any of these areas is relevant to a particular client depends on that client’s circumstances — the questions that prospective clients commonly raise during initial consultations include:
- Whether they have an up-to-date will and, if not, what the position would be on their death under the intestacy rules of England and Wales (under the Administration of Estates Act 1925, as amended);
- How inheritance tax would apply to their estate at current 2026/27 rates and reliefs;
- How property held jointly is treated on death (the difference between joint tenancy and tenancy in common);
- What lasting powers of attorney are and how they operate under the Mental Capacity Act 2005;
- The general operation of different types of trust under English and Welsh law and the regulated professionals who advise on them.
Each of these is discussed at the initial consultation in general terms only. Any specific advice or action is taken only after the client has had access to advice from the appropriate regulated professional.
How to arrange an initial consultation
- Phone: 0117 440 1555
- Email: answers@mpestateplanning.uk
- Office: Pill Road, Abbots Leigh, England, BS8 3RA