Ray Best
Author
To support accountants like you with the legal, strategic, and tax-focused structures that high-net-worth clients require, I founded Wills, Tax & Trusts Ltd. Whether you're advising business owners, property investors, or private clients with £2.5M+ estates, I provide the insight and planning that helps your firm strengthen trust, deepen relationships, and deliver long-term impact.
Estate planning isn't just a service; it's a responsibility. Approximately 80% of inherited wealth disappears within two generations, an unfortunate reality. Often, the loss isn't due to frivolous spending but a lack of structured planning, poor communication, or avoidable tax exposure.
My mission is to change that.
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Every client plan I build is bespoke. I take time to understand not just the figures, but also the family dynamics, the business structure, and the values that define each legacy. Together, we can ensure that the wealth your clients have built over a lifetime is protected intelligently, legally, and in a way that endures for generations.
Ray Best is the author of Pension Paradigm and Pensions Betrayed; an estate planning specialist and a business strategist whose career has been built on identifying overlooked risks and developing practical solutions to complex problems.
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Early in his career, Ray became Head of Method Studies after successfully resolving issues that had prevented the completion of numerous previous projects. His ability to identify missing strategies and overlooked factors became a defining feature of his professional approach.
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He subsequently worked closely with business owners, helping them improve efficiency, profitability and cash flow, often leading to substantial increases in business value and successful business sales. Through this experience, Ray gained first-hand insight into the risks faced by business owners, their families and their fellow shareholders.
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Recognising the potential financial consequences of inadequate planning, Ray authored works on Partnership Protection and Share Protection, helping business owners safeguard both their businesses and their families against unforeseen events.
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Ray's expertise in estate planning and taxation led to his contribution to Inheritance Tax Simplified, a respected and long-established reference work co-authored with Tony Granger, which has helped professionals and families navigate complex inheritance tax legislation. He has also written several feature articles for Tax Adviser magazine.
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Throughout his career, Ray has often challenged conventional thinking. His publication, EBT Bombshell, highlighted the risks associated with Employee Benefit Trusts at a time when those concerns were widely dismissed. Subsequent HMRC action against many EBTs went on to assist business owners in restructuring their affairs and mitigating the consequences of those arrangements.
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His most recent books, Pension Paradigm and Pensions Betrayed, continue this tradition of early analysis and warning. They examine the implications of proposed changes to pension and inheritance taxes and their potential impact on families, retirees, and business owners seeking to preserve wealth across generations.
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Today, Ray Best is recognised for combining commercial experience, tax planning expertise and independent thinking to help individuals and business owners understand and address risks that others may overlook.
Essential Reading for Families and Professional Advisers
