My grandmother and her twin brother, my great uncle Albert, split half a million pounds, the proceeds of selling a cloth distribution enterprise, equally between them. When they died in the late 1980s, each of them passed on that quarter million-pound wedge in their estates.

First, my great uncle Albert… His estate paid inheritance tax at 40% therefore his daughter, my aunt inherited only £150,000. My aunt got divorced in what turned out to be the last year of her life – on her divorce, half of her £150,000 walked on her divorce. Therefore, she had only £75,000 of the original quarter million to pass on to her children.

Now my grandmother… By the bolts and nuts of her estate planning when my grandmother died, her daughter, my mum had full use of the £250,000. Because granny had done the hard work, now my mother has died, I today have unrestricted access to the £250,000, and when I die, my daughter would have the full £250,000.

How would you rather arrange your affairs, like my grandmother, or like my great uncle Albert?

Not every future member of your family wants or needs to be a multi-millionaire. However, you have it in your gift to lay the foundations so youryou family may rise as high as they wish or they could. You and I know those who attain the jobs that our society accords the greatest rewards tend to come from wealthier backgrounds.

Estate planning uses several tools including Inheritance tax planning click now], lifetime gifting and wills to interpret the relevant rules, regulations and legislation to your circumstances. So, you may control who benefits from your wealth both in your lifetime and after your death.