Details
One of the challenges to solicitors posed by the Legal Services Act is that of reducing reliance on transactional business and building enduring client relationships.
A business area which commends itself as complementing solicitors' mainstream work is financial advice, and the more enterprising firms are increasingly seeking to align with fee-based financial advisers to provide a more comprehensive client service.
Financial Services for Solicitors explains the pros and cons of the various forms of association between solicitors and financial advisers and describes fifteen areas of business in which solicitors' advice may be incomplete without the input of a financial adviser.
- Part 1 explains the structural changes permitted by the Legal Services Act; relevant Law Society and FSA regulation; tax, accounting and legal issues; and the alternative forms of association between solicitors and financial advisers, including joint ventures and separate businesses.
- Part 2 details some of the business areas in which financial services impact solicitors' work, including investment for trusts and for clients who lack mental capacity; the treatment of pensions on divorce; advice to the elderly; tax planning for expatriates; personal injury trusts; pensions for business owners and estate planning.
- Part 3 provides practical compliance and marketing precedents, which are reproduced on an accompanying CD-ROM for ease of use.
This authoritative book has been edited by Ian Muirhead of SIFA, a solicitor, and the contributors include leading financial advisers, accountants and solicitors.
The Law Society has endorsed the SIFA Directory of Professional Financial Advisers.
Part 1 - Regulation and structures for financial services:
1. Financial services regulation and the professions;
2. The Legal Services Act 2007;
3. Client referrals to authorised third parties;
4. In-house financial services, hive-offs and joint ventures;
5. Tax and accounting considerations;
6. Legal aspects of joint ventures and share schemes;
7. Alternative business structures.
Part 2 - Tax planning:
8. Financial solutions for estate planning;
9. Discounted gift trusts and loan trusts;
10. Tax planning for the expatriate;
11. Investment strategies for non-domiciled but resident individuals.
Part 3 - Trusts:
12. Principles of portfolio construction;
13. The impact of tax on trustee investment;
14. Personal injury trusts and periodical payments;
15. Investing for clients who lack mental capacity.
Part 4 - Family:
16. Marriage, partnerships, separation and divorce;
17. Collaborative divorce;
18. Care fees planning;
19. Equity release.
Part 5 - Corporate:
20. Pensions and estate planning for business proprietors;
21. Pensions and estate planning: a case study;
22. Financial planning for the redundant executive.
Precedents.
Ian Muirhead spent his early career in the City of London and in industry. He then joined TWM Solicitors in Surrey, establishing a financial planning department there in the late 1980s. Ian formed SIFA (Solicitors Independent Financial Advice) in 1992. SIFA is now recognised by the FSA as the representative body for solicitor financial advisers. He has written a number of publications and speaks widely on the subject of solicitors and financial services.
"The book is an excellent reference guide to technicalities involved in successful financial services development, and Ian Muirhead is to be congratulated on editing an informative, logical and thought-provoking book."
Managing for Success
