Should I get an accountant/financial advisor?

Torontofemale

Hi all,
Would appreciate your thoughts here. Me (pregnant), my husband and our 1 year old are returning to the UK after 3 years in Canada. I won't be working so we will have to watch the purse strings pretty carefully. We have 2/3 equity in a flat we rent out in Leeds (mortgage fully paid off thanks to $/£ exchange rate in our favour!) but we rent it out and won't be living in it (would love to sell but we bought at height of market in 2007 - bad move). When we move we'll be renting initially and then hope to buy as soon as possible using some inheritance my father in law is hanging onto for us plus some money brought back from Canada as a deposit. Apart from that our financial situation is pretty straightforward - no other money hidden anywhere. We haven't paid anything into a pension the whole time we've been away so definitely need to step that up.
Anyway, my question is - do you think it is worth paying for the services of an accountant or a financial advisor? Or should we do the research and DIY?
Thanks in advance!

grumbler

I don't see why you might need an accountant. Is it common in Canada for people to have one?
And personally, I wouldn't waste money on a financial adviser at least until I clearly understand what I need and that I cannot do this myself.

What exactly 'advice' do you need and what research your want to do?

Torontofemale

grumbler wrote: »

I don't see why you might need an accountant. Is it common in Canada for people to have one?
And personally, I wouldn't waste money on a financial adviser at least until I clearly understand what I need and that I cannot do this myself.

What exactly 'advice' do you need and what research your want to do?

Actually yes it is quite common in Canada as everyone has to file taxes. We haven't had one though.

To answer your question, I guess, my (probably mis-guided) assumption is that an accountant might find some good loop holes to make sure we're getting the most from our money (eg putting an account in my son's name or something). I have a memory as a child having to sign a cheque for £20k or something as my grandparents put money in a 'Grandchild's trust' which I think I will get something from one day (it wasn't dodgy or anything - it will actually go to the grandchildren but maybe they used it to move money around, I don't know). From the financial adviser side of things, advice on what to invest in/how to manage our pensions/other stuff I wouldn't even know about.

grumbler

Unless you want an advice on some risky financial investments, all other information is easily available without any advisers (am not sure about 'trusts').
E.g. Children's Savings

innovate

Torontofemale wrote: »

....(eg putting an account in my son's name or something)...

You can put money into your children's names, but that money will then be theirs, not yours, even if they can't get at it until they are x years old.

Lots of people asked about children's savings - - there are several thread on this over on the Savings & Investments board. Also, there are a lot of good articles on the main site.

agrinnall

I don't know what filing taxes is like in Canada but I'm guessing it's not easy if an accountant is required - there are many millions of people who file through Self Assessment here who will never have taken any financial advice, it's pretty straightforward if your affairs aren't too complex. Presumably the tax due on the income from your rented flat has been withheld at source while you were away?

pandora205

This site (Martin's bit) and the Money Advice Service gives lots of useful advice on all sorts of money matters. I'd start by reading up on tax, saving and pensions to get a feel for how it works and some useful tips.