Who Does What in Estate Planning?
How your professional advisers work together to protect and pass on your wealth
Estate planning is rarely about a single decision or document. It is an ongoing process that evolves as your wealth grows, your family circumstances change, and tax rules develop.
Done well, estate planning usually involves three key professional advisers working together:
A financial planner / financial adviser
A solicitor / lawyer
An accountant / tax adviser
Each plays a distinct role. There are also areas where their responsibilities overlap, and it’s in those overlap areas that good coordination becomes essential.
1. The Financial Planner / Financial Adviser
The role of a financial planner is to look after your money and ensure it is working effectively for you and your family, both during your lifetime and beyond.
At Ifamax, financial planning is not just about investments. It’s about structure, tax efficiency and long-term outcomes.
A financial planner will typically help you to:
Grow, protect and pass on wealth in a structured, tax-efficient way
Plan retirement income, including how much you can safely draw and for how long
Make best use of tax allowances, such as:
Pensions
ISAs
Capital gains allowances
Dividend allowances
Invest appropriately for your goals, time horizon and attitude to risk, using:
Pensions
ISAs
General investment accounts
Some trust-based investment solutions
Financial planners and trusts
When trusts are involved, a financial planner’s role is usually focused on investment and income strategy, not on legal setup.
They can:
Manage the investments held within the trust
Help plan when and how income or capital is distributed, in line with your objectives
They do not create the trust itself, that legal work sits firmly with a solicitor.
Your financial planner can, however, help you identify when your ongoing inheritance tax planning could benefit from trusts and how much is appropriate to add to the trust.
2. The Solicitor / Lawyer
A solicitor focuses on the legal framework of your estate. Their role is to ensure your wishes are clearly documented and legally enforceable.
They will typically advise on and prepare:
Wills, ensuring your estate passes in line with your intentions
Powers of Attorney (POAs), appointing people you trust to act on your behalf if you lose capacity
Trusts, including:
Advising on which type of trust may be suitable
Drafting trust deeds and associated legal documents
Explaining how trust law applies to your circumstances
Solicitors also play a key role in Inheritance Tax (IHT) planning, advising on how the wording and structure of wills and trusts can affect the tax position of your estate.
They may also help with organising probate, so they can provide valuable insight into the probate process and how your planning may be viewed by HMRC post death.
3. The Accountant / Tax Adviser
An accountant’s role is to ensure that tax is calculated correctly and reported properly to HMRC.
In the context of estate and trust planning, an accountant may:
Register trusts with HMRC via the Trust Registration Service and keep records up to date
Complete and submit trust and estate tax returns
Advise on income tax and capital gains tax for:
Trusts
Estates
Beneficiaries receiving income or capital
Support the practical tax reporting when gifts are made or when someone dies
Accountants often work behind the scenes, but their role is critical to ensuring planning works in practice, not just in theory.
Where Do These Roles Overlap?
Estate planning works best when advisers communicate clearly with one another. Some of the most essential overlap areas include:
Inheritance Tax (IHT) planning
Financial planner: Models different scenarios, gifting strategies and long-term affordability
Solicitor: Builds IHT planning into wills and trust structures
Accountant: Ensures tax is calculated, reported and paid correctly
Trusts and investments
Financial planner: Manages the trust’s investments and income strategy
Solicitor: Sets up and documents the trust within the law
Accountant: Handles ongoing tax returns and reporting
Business and property planning
Financial planner: Integrates business or property assets into your wider wealth and retirement plan
Solicitor: Deals with ownership structures, succession planning and legal agreements
Accountant: Advises on the tax treatment of sales, transfers and ongoing income
How Ifamax Helps Bring Everything Together
At Ifamax Wealth Management, our role is often to act as the central hub that brings estate planning together.
We help by:
Clarifying your goals — what you want to happen during your lifetime and after you’re gone
Ensuring your investments, pensions and savings align with your will, trusts and tax planning
Identifying potential IHT solutions and liaising with the appropriate professionals to help form an effective plan
Working alongside your solicitor and accountant so that:
Legal documents reflect your wishes
Tax reporting is accurate and efficient
Your wealth is managed in a way that supports the legacy you want to leave
Estate planning isn’t about one document or one decision. It’s about making sure all the moving parts continue to work together as your life evolves.
Reviewing Your Estate Plan
Many people have estate plans that were put in place years ago and have never been revisited. Changes in family circumstances, asset values and tax rules can all mean your arrangements no longer reflect your intentions.
If you would like to review your estate planning and understand whether your current structure still works for you and your family, we can help you bring all the pieces together, clearly, calmly and with your long-term goals in mind.
Risk warning
This article is distributed for educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or an offer of any security for sale. This article contains the opinions of the author but not necessarily the Firm and does not represent a recommendation of any particular security, strategy, or investment product. Reference to specific products is made only to help make educational points and does not constitute any form or recommendation or advice. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed.