Laura Wiley

"I am a trusts and estates accountant supporting the private client legal team and our clients with all their tax and compliance needs.”

I am part of the trusts team, having joined Higgs in February 2023. Prior to joining Higgs, I was a senior trust manager in a large accountancy firm in Hertfordshire.

I have over fifteen years of experience is undertaking all aspects of tax, accounting, and regulatory compliance for trusts and estates. Typically, I assist clients with annual work, creation and termination of trusts, inheritance tax and capital gains tax filing, and preparation of charity accounts. I also deal with UK and foreign regulatory compliance, typically the Trust Registration Service, FATCA and CRS reporting.

I am a fully member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, currently serving as the Treasurer for the Beds, Bucks and Herts Branch of STEP, as well as a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Expertise

Trusts

Experience

Dealt with all the annual compliance for a trust that included multiple sub-funds with different income requirements and tax treatments, ensuring all the income, tax, and professional costs were correctly allocated across the funds. Prepared beneficiary income certificates and advised on their tax filing obligations.
Prepared estate accounts for two linked estates to cover multiple years and assets in several countries, reconciled all the tax positions, and advised on the tax treatment of assets appointed to the beneficiaries.
Undertook an exercise to review and bring up to date all Inheritance Tax compliance for a trust with a ten-year anniversary charge and multiple exit charges.
Advised on and completed 60-Day CGT on UK Residential Property Return following a sale of a property.
Reviewed and brought up to date all the Trust Registration and FATCA/CRS compliance for a trust.