About
I advise both UK resident and domiciled individuals and those not living in the UK, together with their trusts and companies. I have had the privilege of advising many highly influential international families, helping them to structure their assets across the globe. I have developed a particular expertise in structuring trusts in the context of the Islamic Shariah rules on devolution, due to my work in the Middle East.
My practice also extends to UK entrepreneurs and business owners, as well as art collectors and estate owners, each with their own unique challenges and aspirations. I am deeply committed to finding solutions that are not only practical and understandable but also reflective of each family's values.
I take a collaborative approach, working with Trustees, Family, and Estate Offices, as well as other professional advisers, to ensure a unified strategy in tax and succession planning. By understanding clients concerns, ambitions, and the nuances of their daily lives, I can provide solutions that help their estates thrive now and for generations to come.
I am often involved in UK heritage tax work, particularly regarding conditional exemption and offers in lieu of tax. Advising trustees, including charitable trustees, on their duties and responsibilities is another area of specialism for me, which can include representing them in Court applications.
I am admitted to practise in England and Wales, and I welcome the opportunity to assist you with your legal needs.
Experience
- Acted in a difficult Variation of Trusts Act application to Court by which the life of a valuable settlement was extended and the Trustees’ powers were significantly widened; in particular, a power was introduced allowing the Trustees to accumulate income to meet Inheritance Tax 10 year charges which otherwise could only have been funded by selling capital assets
- Provided advice to Trustees on the sale of their majority shareholding in an important family trading company, which was the principal asset of the Settlement; this included advice to the Trustees on their powers under the Settlement and on the warranties and indemnities requested of them by the purchaser of the company
- Acted for a prominent non UK family in the structuring of their property assets both in the UK and in seven other jurisdictions; this included the creation of a Family Protocol, signed up to by all the adults in both the main branches of the family, which should ensure a stable environment for family governance in the future
- Advised an art owner on a complex series of Acceptance in Lieu and Inheritance Tax Conditional Exemption Applications by which an historic collection of paintings was preserved and is now on display to the public, partly in national institutions and partly in the owner’s home; the Conditional Exemption also extended to an area of land of outstanding natural beauty
