Disputes involving estates, trusts and vulnerable individuals are rarely straightforward. They often span multiple jurisdictions, legal systems and family dynamics, requiring not only technical expertise but also cultural sensitivity and strategic foresight.
We act for high net worth individuals, trustees, beneficiaries and family offices. Whether you are navigating a contested Will, a trust dispute or a sensitive capacity issue, we provide clear and pragmatic advice.
We understand that disputes can be stressful and disruptive. Our approach is to resolve matters efficiently and discreetly, using alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation whenever possible.
Our areas of expertise include:
- Estate disputes –
- Claims under the and will challenges, including those involving undue influence, lack of testamentary capacity, or rectification and construction of a Will.
- Executor disputes, professional negligence in estate administration and applications for the removal of .
- Disputes over personal possessions, ashes or burial wishes.
- Trust disputes – including trustee/beneficiary conflicts, disclosure issues, trustee removals, trust variations, proprietary estoppel and constructive trust claims.
- Vulnerable client disputes – such as Court of Protection applications in respect of incapacitated individuals, financial abuse claims, removal of attorneys or deputies and cross-border capacity issues.
How we can help
Whether you are a trustee facing a challenge, a beneficiary seeking clarity or a family navigating a difficult transition, we can help you move forward with confidence.
Our clients trust us not only for our legal expertise, but also for our ability to guide them through difficult moments with empathy, discretion and resolve. Whether the matter is domestic or international, straightforward or highly complex, we bring the right people together to protect your interests and achieve the best possible outcome.
Recent experience
- Advising clients on rectifying historical trust planning errors, including tax disclosures, succession planning and potential negligence claims against former advisers.
- Acting for the representative of beneficiaries in a trust variation application involving a child born via surrogacy in the US; raising complex issues around citizenship, tax and future beneficiary status.
- Working with trustees on an application under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958 to extend trust terms and avoid significant capital gains tax, while aligning with modern family structures.
- Representing a surviving spouse in a dispute over the validity of a foreign marriage and entitlement to a £25m UK estate, involving complex legal and cultural issues.
- Negotiating a settlement between adult children and a surviving spouse over control of a family business, coordinating across multiple legal disciplines to implement the agreement.
- Successfully applying for a fresh inquest after a procedural error led to a suicide verdict without family input, securing a rare costs order against the coroner.
- Acting for a son challenging a Will made shortly before his father’s death, alleging undue influence and capacity issues, and intervening in pension distribution decisions.
- Advising a non-UK resident attorney on removing a co-attorney suspected of financial abuse, coordinating across property and family law to protect the donor’s interests.
- Advising a charity CEO on removing trustees acting against the charity’s interests.
