Gifts to children or grandchildren sit at the crossroads of generosity and inheritance tax rules. Annual exemptions and wedding gifts have clear limits; larger gifts start seven-year clocks that families often misunderstand.
Before moving money, we encourage a short family conversation about fairness — not identical amounts for every child, but an explanation of why a gift is happening now. Hidden gifts discovered later create lasting distrust.
Keep simple records: date, amount, recipient, and whether the gift was from surplus income or capital. Surplus-income gifts can fall outside the seven-year rule if patterned correctly, but the paperwork must show the pattern.
Pension death benefits and will wording should be updated after large gifts so the overall estate still reflects your wishes. A solicitor drafts the documents; an adviser helps you decide what belongs in the briefing note.
If relationships are strained, pause. Financial structure cannot repair a conversation that has not happened. We will wait until you are ready rather than push a tidy plan into a messy family moment.