Helen Barnett

Legal Director

Private Client

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Expertise

Helen advises on the administration of complex estates, often with a cross border element. She prepares Wills for clients, many of whom have assets in other jurisdictions, ensuring that the Will is drafted to achieve the client’s aims in a tax efficient way. Helen also advises clients on lifetime inheritance tax planning, including creating new trusts and appointing assets out of existing trusts. She has a particular interest in mental capacity issues, and advises on powers of attorney and Court of Protection matters.

Recent Experience

  • Advising the executor of a multi-million pound estate, which passed under the terms of a home-made Will; liaising with HMRC to maximise inheritance tax reliefs and exemptions for the estate.
  • Advising clients on the gift of a property to their children, putting in place arrangements to ensure that they can continue to use the property themselves without a gift with reservation of benefit arising.
  • Advising on an application to the Court of Protection to make gifts to the donor’s children and grandchildren and creating a trust into which the gifts for the grandchildren can be held.
  • Attending a secure facility to take instructions for Lasting Powers of Attorney for a client with severe paranoid schizophrenia, having obtained a suitable expert opinion on the client’s capacity to give those instructions.

Career History

Helen joined Wedlake Bell in October 2018. She trained at Bircham Dyson Bell, and qualified as a solicitor there in 2011.

Helen has a degree in History from Cambridge University, she completed the Graduate Diploma in Law and the Legal Practice Course at BPP.

Helen is a member of STEP, having completed the STEP Diploma in Trusts and Estates (England & Wales) in 2014.

Endorsements

  • Top Recommended 40 Under 40 2022 in Citywealth Leaders List
  • Silver Medallist in ‘Lawyer of the Year: Associate’ in the Citywealth Future Leaders Awards 2020
  • Citywealth ‘Top 100 Future Leaders’ – 2020
  • Eprivateclient ‘Top 35 under 35’ winner – 2014
  • Citywealth ‘Top 100 Future Leaders’ – 2016

News

Joint bank accounts – how are the funds treated for IHT purposes?

When one of the owners of a joint bank account dies, the funds in the account will usually pass to the other joint owner(s) automatically by survivorship. It is importantRead more

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Lasting Powers of Attorney and investment management

Private client practitioners around the country welcomed the news that the Office of the Public Guardian (“OPG“) has finally amended its written guidance regarding financial Lasting Powers of Attorney (“LPAs“)Read more

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Women And Wealth: Minimising The Inheritance Tax Burden

In this article for Wealth Briefing, Helen Barnett examines the knowledge gap between women and men where IHT is concerned; and what measures, as they become primary wealth holders, womenRead more

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Separation Tax Anxiety

In this article for the STEP Journal, Helen Barnett, a senior associate in the Private Client team, and Trisha Siddique, a senior associate in the Family team, discuss how capitalRead more

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CGT and Divorce Explained

Senior Associates in our Family and Private Client teams, Trisha Siddique and Helen Barnett, look at the capital gains tax consequences of separation and divorce in light of potential changesRead more

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New Online LPA Service

In light of the current Covid-19 crisis, many organisations have realised the ever increasing importance of using technology to manage processes which were previously dealt with by postal correspondence. OneRead more