Real families, real plans.

After many years in the UAE, Mr M planned to retire to the UK and live on the rent from a property portfolio he had built. That income would have been taxed at the top 45% rate, and the portfolio would have left his daughter a large inheritance tax bill.

We reviewed the portfolio with him and, once he decided to sell the properties, placed the proceeds in a Discounted Gift Trust for his daughter, set up to pay him a regular monthly income in retirement.

At the time of planning, the inheritance tax exposure on those assets was estimated at more than £2 million, and his annual income tax bill was estimated to fall by around £36,000.

Mr O wanted around USD 1 million available for each of his four children’s university education. He had USD 500,000 to invest straight away and could add USD 250,000 a year, but was uncomfortable with market swings.

We structured an international life insurance plan that combined an insurer-backed element with a minimum return set by the policy terms and a lending facility to put more capital to work from the start.

The plan was designed to target his education goal for all four children, and was stress-tested so contributions stayed affordable even if borrowing costs rose sharply. Plans that use borrowing carry additional risk.

Mr J’s business needed new lines of credit to grow. His lenders would only extend them if the business held substantial life cover on him as its key person.

We arranged USD 8 million of key person cover with UAE-based insurers, structured to meet the lenders’ requirements and to protect the business if he were no longer there to lead it.

With the cover in place, the credit lines were agreed and the business was able to fund its next stage of growth.

After her husband died, Mrs J received USD 2 million from his life insurance. With two children approaching university, limited experience of investing and a move to South Africa ahead, she needed an income she could rely on for life.

We invested the proceeds through a private placement life insurance structure with a low-risk strategy, set up to pay a fixed monthly income and to suit her tax position after the move.

Mrs J now receives a regular monthly income, with the capital held in a structure designed to be tax-efficient in South Africa and to pass to her children in due course.