A Stockport based firm of accountants have taken advantage of new regulations to expand their client services to include Probate after The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) was awarded the power to regulate the service.
Hallidays, one of the first in the country, have recently obtained a license which allows them to provide probate services to their clients as well as their inheritance tax, capital gains tax, and estate planning services, enabling them to deal with their clients’ estates and help support their families after they have died.
Left: Hallidays Tax Director Philip Eagle
Accountants have only been able to apply for a Probate license since August last year, after the ICAEW was awarded the power to regulate the service, previously reserved for solicitors.
Hallidays believe that extending the probate license to accountants makes sense as they already have expertise in the necessary areas of inheritance tax, trusts and estate planning as well as an in-depth understanding of their client’s financial positions. This means that, in the event of a client’s death, they are well placed to give an efficient probate service and help reduce the stress for their families. This expertise is especially useful when dealing with larger estates where inheritance tax payments and managing assets becomes very complicated.
To carry a probate license firms must adhere to a strict set of rules laid out by the ICAEW to ensure high levels of service including holding professional indemnity insurance to ensure their clients are always covered and not at risk.
The license also allows Hallidays to take over the role of executor as being an executor is often a stressful and time consuming role within a family and carries a fair amount of legal responsibility, the reason why people often choose to give the responsibility to a solicitor or accountant.
To find out more about Hallidays inheritance tax, estate planning, and probate services, people can contact Philip Eagle on 0161 476 8276 or email hello@hallidays.co.uk