The simple answer to this question is ‘yes, you can’, but as always with complicated finances, the devil is both in the detail and in some expert financial planning.

First thing’s first: as a business owner, it is important that you plan for leaving your business at some point. This could take the form of a business sale, or you may want to retain ownership but stop working, or perhaps you have family within the business whom you would like to continue as owners.

Whichever of the above applies (or even if your thinking is completely different to the above), it is important to implement a plan which links your business and personal finances. The earlier you can do this, the better. Finding a buyer, for example, can often take more time than you think.

With a business plan in place, linked to your personal plan, the way to pass money onto your children will become clearer. We’ll have an idea of where your capital will be and when, and when passing it on to the next generation might make sense.

Over the last few years, the legislation changes around inheritance have created more opportunities than ever to organise your assets so that your family, and not the tax man, can take full advantage of them.

The government have recently ended the 55% ‘death tax’ on pensions, for example, meaning you could pass your pension directly to your descendents. Similarly, provision has recently been granted to reduce the amount of inheritance tax which may be due on your estate. By 2020, a housing allowance of £175,000 per person will boost the inheritance tax allowance to a potential £500,000 per person.

Those opportunities, however, only mean that more careful planning is needed. If you were to pass on your pension, for example, to a son or daughter who pays the higher rate of income tax, then they may pay that rate of income tax when they withdraw from it. By passing your remaining pension on to a grandchild instead, they may be able to withdraw from the fund at a lower rate, or even tax free.

The above is just one example of how your inheritance could be structured and, in actual fact, there are many different vehicles you might use to preserve your wealth, and many different ways you may choose to free up capital from your business. If you are interested in discussing these options with one of our chartered financial planners then do feel free to get in touch using any of the methods listed here.