Most parents want to help out their children financially at some point in their lives, whether with college or university costs, their first car, their first step on the property ladder or any number of other things. The financial challenges for many are more acute at the moment, due to the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on the economy, job security, income levels and the availability of loans and mortgages, so more young families may be looking to their parents for help.

There is no vaccine for asset holding structures against changes in economic, tax and personal circumstances. After addressing in recent years new rules on taxation and transparency, international clients now face the significant challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic and fiscal policy interventions which will follow.

On Friday 15 May 2020, we hosted a webinar on the opportunities and impact for Landed Estates due to COVID-19.

WBD private wealth partner Neil Long has been featured in the prestigious Citywealth TOP 100 Trust Litigators List 2020, a guide which recognises individuals who have excelled in litigation and showed great skill in lateral thinking and in negotiating with opponents.

It seems that a burgeoning deficit is one of the more guaranteed results of the UK government's extensive support packages to prop up our economy in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The media is now replete with speculation about how Government may seek to address this, including through tax policy changes. In this article we briefly summarise some of the recent crystal-ball gazing on how tax policy may develop, together with highlighting some initial suggestions about how clients might seek to prepare.