MOVEMENT. STRATEGY. EVOLUTION.

“All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.” - Benjamin Franklin

We are delighted to publish the 2025 Offshore Edition of our Private Client Magazine. This edition reflects a private wealth world in motion.  Across offshore structuring, philanthropy, litigation, reputation, and regulation, the contributors explore not only where the ground is shifting, but how forward-thinking advisers and families are responding with agility and intention.

From the waning era of Non-Dom protections and the rise of Jersey Private Funds, to the evolving human role in a trust landscape increasingly influenced by AI, one theme stands out: adaptability.

We meet those who remain immovable, wedded to legacy practices now under scrutiny. We those who are movable, reacting to pressures, be they fiscal, reputational or generational.  And we meet those who move, shaping the next chapter in offshore thinking, anticipating change, and driving innovation.

Whether it’s rethinking the use of reserved powers, navigating transatlantic trust challenges for US persons, or introducing arbitration into trust disputes, the authors bring both urgency and clarity to complex, cross-border realities. Even philanthropy, often a feel-good footnote, is approached with rigorous due diligence and structural insight.

Taken together, this issue invites practitioners to ask: where do I - and where do my clients’ sit in Franklin’s taxonomy? And more importantly, what’s the next move?

We are delighted to present Issue 16 of the Private Client magazine to our readers, The Future of Private Client Finance: Next Gen Wealth Edition. This issue delves into the multifaceted landscape of Next Gen Wealth, offering an exciting collection of articles from across the Private Client community.

The Hon’ble National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), New Delhi Bench recently considered oppression and mismanagement under section 241-242 of the Companies Act, 2013 in the context of a family-owned business. One of the issues was whether the company along with other business entities were in the nature of a quasi-partnership.

We are delighted to present the Private Client Magazine. In Issue 15, we unveil an in-depth exploration of the intricacies and opportunities within the private client offshore sector.

In Liechtenstein civil proceedings, the principle applies that the losing party in the proceedings must reimburse the winning party for the legal costs, fees and expenses incurred by it. As Liechtenstein is not a member state of the Lugano Convention, decisions by Liechtenstein courts on this reimbursement of costs cannot be enforced abroad without further ado. The procedural obligation to provide a security deposit for costs (so-called actuarial deposit; cautio iudicatum solvi) is therefore of crucial practical importance.

There has been a shift in recent years towards favouring open justice over court proceedings being held in private. Disputes in respect of trusts have not been immune to this trend and in the UK, as well as the Channel Islands, BVI, the Cayman Islands and Bahamas the Courts have been seen to scrutinise applications for proceedings to be held in private more carefully.

Wisdom and wealth part company in an environment of unmediated conflict.  When families and individuals with wealth disagree, the emotional dynamic overlaying disharmony can amplify disagreement quickly.  Early, skilled professional support can help to prevent conflict from spiralling to the detriment of everyone involved.

On occasion, evidence acquired during criminal investigations and/or proceedings can be useful in contested probate disputes.  Aside from the crossover embodied in the well-known forfeiture rule, there are further intersections between the two areas. For example, issues relating to criminal conduct may be a relevant consideration when challenging a Will for forgery or fraud, or under section 3(1)(g) under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 which states that in exercising its power the Court shall have regard to the conduct of the applicant or any other person. It is unsurprising that evidence regarding previous convictions, investigations and evidence are highly sought-after for probate disputes.

Situations can arise when a person has been ‘missing’ some time, leaving their loved ones to face the unwelcome issue of how the missing person’s affairs are to be dealt with.

That prospect, though entwined with an undoubted reluctance to accept the death of the missing person, thankfully does come with some helpful guidance from a legal perspective in the form of the Presumption of Death Act 2013 (“the Act”).

In recent years, the legal landscape surrounding partnerships and unions has evolved significantly across various jurisdictions.

With the rise in international families, couples should be aware of the financial implications of formalising their relationship abroad as it could in fact be recognised as forming a relationship tantamount to marriage in another jurisdiction.

It is trite law that there is freedom of testamentary expression in England and Wales but there is also no doubt that private client litigation, which effectively thwarts that freedom, is on the rise.  There are an increasing number of both will challenges and claims for further financial provision pursuant to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (the 1975 Act).    In this context a testator may well want to protect their wishes and their intended beneficiaries from any challenge in the future by including a no-contest clause in their will.

Social: A late oil heiress has won what could be a pivotal FBAR decision against the Internal Revenue Service.

The estate of Lavern Gaynor, heiress to the Texaco oil fortune, has won a jury decision concerning $21 million in penalties and interest for her allegedly willful failure to report foreign bank accounts to the U.S. government.

We are delighted to present the Contentious Trusts edition of the Private Client Magazine. In Issue 14, we unveil the challenging landscape of trust disputes. From family dynamics to the evolving legal frameworks across different jurisdictions, our authors examine the intricacies involved in resolving contentious trust matters. We hope you find the following pages insightful, as they shed light on familial relationships and legacy preservation.

Leo Tolstoy begins his novel Anna Karenina with this famous line: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

When a marital relationship turns sour and a divorce is sought, sometimes what is left to be resolved might unfortunately just be the value and division of the matrimonial assets owned by the parties, which often involves shares in private companies, cryptocurrency and investment properties. The value of these assets is then estimated using commonly adopted valuation approaches, and yet often the party-appointed experts arrive at values with a substantial gap between them, leaving the court to assess and finally determine their value.

A modern stumbling block for those administering a will are the digital assets the person may own and how they are dealt with after death and their inclusion, or lack of, within a conventional will. Here we explore in more detail as to how this area is evolving to adapt to this new type of modern day asset.

Across the UK the composition of families is changing. No longer is marriage the norm; instead, more and more couples are deciding to live together as cohabitants without formalised relationship statuses.

A trustee or protector losing capacity inevitably creates uncertainty for the trust structure. It can force the administration of the trust to be put on hold or even temporarily lead to a complete halt in decision-making for the trust.

However, with the right foresight, settlors and trustees can put measures into place to address capacity issues before they arise.

Yesterday’s budget contained a number of bombshells for non-domiciled individuals and trusts which they have established. We will shortly be publishing an article explaining the new regime in more detail but this post focuses specifically on the implications for non-UK resident trusts and those who establish and benefit from them.

• Wednesday's budget contained some momentous announcements for non-doms. This article explains the changes being made for individuals, the transitional rules that have been announced, what this means for trusts and what those affected might do in response.

Mutual Wills come in and out of fashion, more commonly used in blended families to protect an estate for the children as agreed at a point in time, sensitive to the fact that neither testator may want a subsequent spouse (or their children) to benefit from a joint estate built up during a relationship. Once the first testator has died, the second is prohibited in equity from changing the dispositions in that mutual will, so that any subsequent executor will hold the estate on trust for the gifts made in the mutual will. Put plainly, after the first testator has died, the practical effect is that the gifts in the mutual will take effect regardless of any subsequent will. 

A will is assumed by most to be sacrosanct – the deceased’s last wishes which must be upheld whether or not that is detrimental to those who might otherwise have received an interest. There are plenty of views on inheritance, which to some may seem outdated or plain unfair. They may have their basis in cultural, societal or religious beliefs and norms. The most obvious example is that of assets passing down the male line, regardless of surviving female spouses and children. That may be because the assumption is that the sons will ‘look after’ their mother and/or sisters, but where there is any familial discord or ill will, this cannot always be relied upon.

“Although Part 36 primarily functions in money claims it is capable of operating in other claims and it would be wrong to give its terms a narrow reading that limit its effect when the CPR encourages parties to use its provisions to resolve claims. In that sense probate claims are no different to other litigation before the courts. There is however a difference in the steps that must be taken upon terms having been agreed.” – Master Marsh, September 2023

The number of inheritance disputes in England and Wales has risen dramatically in recent years, with a recent report from The Guardian (February 2024) citing that as many as 10,000 people were disputing wills annually. The Ministry of Justice has reported 140% increase in court cases in this area in the past decade with 195 cases heard in 2021-22 alone.

Is your client going through a divorce in a foreign jurisdiction but they or their spouse has an English pension? Or are they contemplating divorcing in England but have foreign pensions? This area has potential trips and pitfalls so it is important you identify this early and consider the implications ideally before the divorce is even issued. 

For pre-1983 Wills, a will made in contemplation of a marriage is not revoked by that subsequent marriage. Similarly, a pre-1983 Will exercising a power of appointment is generally not revoked by a subsequent marriage, subject to limited exceptions.

As we pave the way into a new fiscal year, we are delighted to present the 2024 Private Client Tax Special. This special edition will serve as your guide to the latest developments, strategies and insights that have emerged in the realm of tax. Our authors have curated articles that will equip you with the tools to optimise your financial strategies, mitigate risks and cultivate opportunities in the ever-shifting tax landscape.

In recent years, the question of information rights, especially in relation to Liechtenstein trusts, has become something of an emotionally discussed hot-button issue in Liechtenstein trust practice and has led to heated exchanges among practitioners, nationally and internationally. The general notion, especially in the international private client community, seems to be that due to recent developments, Liechtenstein discretionary trusts suffer from a distinct lack of control, as Liechtenstein Courts have considerably limited the information and control rights of discretionary beneficiaries. This has been widely conceived as an attack on the beneficiary principle and has led to widespread criticism by Liechtenstein practitioners as well as disgruntled beneficiaries and their advisors in foreign jurisdictions.

This article analyses a recent case in the Cayman Islands which demonstrate the scope of the Courts’ supervisory role and powers. The decision provides clarity as to the approach to be taken by the Courts in similar cases in other offshore and common law jurisdictions, and serve as a useful reminder of the fact that the Courts will not substitute their own views for those of trustees or beneficiaries, and will generally give priority to the specific facts of each case.

We are delighted to present Private Client Magazine Issue 13 - Wealth Around The Globe. This issue represents the round-up of 2023, providing articles on philanthropy, the rise of AI, the world of trustees, and much more.

As always, thank you to all of our contributors for sharing their articles with our Private Client community. We wish all our readers a safe and happy Christmas, and look forward to welcoming you back to TL4 in the New Year.

It feels, at least anecdotally to this practitioner, that identification of abusive conduct is becoming more common. Perhaps it’s not just me - the Law Commission is researching the operation of conduct in respect to FRP in their scoping document due September 2024^[1]. Even the Government has declared its recent intention to focus on domestic abusers in their proposed sentencing reform legislation^[2]. Outside FRP, domestic violence injunctions have increased greatly since the Pandemic, leading to judges recently re-stating the strict thresholds in ex parte injunctions^[3].

The ‘non-dom’ tax regime is one of the attractions of London as a global wealth hub. In recent years however, being a ‘non-dom’ has been seen as akin to not paying your ‘fair share’ of tax. In the writer’s view, provided that people have done their best to comply with the law, such criticism is entirely misplaced. However, politicians have bracketed non-dom status with tax avoidance, trading assertions on whether the non-dom regime aligns with the UK’s economic goals, or attracts the ‘right kind’ of wealth to the UK.

Readers will no doubt have seen the significant press coverage afforded to HMRC’s criminal prosecution of Bernie Ecclestone.  High-profile criminal prosecutions of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in relation to their tax affairs have been relatively rare in recent years in the UK. The sums involved are also eye-watering, with Mr Ecclestone reaching a settlement with HMRC involving the payment of over £650 million in tax, interest and penalties.

An executor of a will is appointed by the deceased to carry out their last wishes. Executors could therefore be forgiven for assuming that the logical extension of this is that beneficiaries should not interfere with them getting on with their job. After all, it is a fairly thankless task – most executors are not paid for their time and it can take months to administer even the smallest of estates.

Family law arbitration is currently experiencing a burst in popularity. Whilst it has been available for financial cases in England and Wales since 2012, and for children cases since 2016, its use became far more prevalent during the pandemic. Since then, seeing the numerous benefits, practitioners have gladly added it to their toolbox to try to help resolve matters efficiently and effectively for their clients. Arbitration allows proceedings to be ended in a timely and cost-efficient manner, with multiple issues able to be resolved in one forum. Given the current delay in the court system, and the associated costs this delay can generate, arbitration is becoming a popular alternative.  This also means the number of reported cases involving arbitration is gradually increasing as well, resulting in helpful guidance for those making their first forays into this evolving area.

“The rich are different from you and me”, F Scott Fitzgerald wrote. Ernest Hemingway’s retort, “Yes, they have more money”, has some truth in the context of litigation. The wealthy usually have the same kinds of legal disputes as anyone else (contractual, marital, inheritance and so on), but they have more funds to litigate them and there’s more money at stake.

The modern family can pose a variety of difficulties for high-net-worth individuals when it comes to their estate planning. But perhaps the most common dilemma arises where the individual holds the bulk of the family’s wealth and has a spouse and one or more children from previous relationships, all of whom need to be provided for. In those circumstances, how does the individual make suitable provision for the surviving spouse whilst ensuring the bulk of the wealth ultimately passes to the children?

Viewers of Succession will be familiar with siblings squabbling over who succeeds Dad as the next CEO of the multi-billion family business empire. Yet behind the gloss of TV drama, similar scenarios play out in real businesses, as the stresses and challenges of running a business are magnified with the added dimension of personal and family relationships. Such businesses have the potential to be incredible successes but can equally degenerate into bitter inter-generational and/or sibling feuds. So how do family businesses navigate both the legal and personal landscape and make a success of their business? Reflecting on the statutory framework, recent case law and practical considerations, we consider how family boards can function effectively and sidestep the potential pitfalls.

The Supreme Court decision of Radmacher v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42, handed down at the start of my family law career, has undoubtedly been the most significant decision of it so far. It saw Nicolas Granatino receive a much lower award than he had expected, and crucially, heralded a seismic change in the approach of judges and practitioners to nuptial agreements.

High Net Worth (HNW) disputes and divorce cases often involve complex financial, legal, and personal relationships, joint assets across multiple jurisdictions. In such cases, the ability to gather accurate and comprehensive information is crucial. Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) has emerged as a valuable resource in these high-stake situations, uncovering hidden assets, financial irregularities, and pertinent information to facilitate successful client outcomes. In this article, we will explore the value proposition that an OSINT company offers in HNW disputes and divorce proceedings, illuminating how this burgeoning new field of intelligence is having a major impact on the HNW divorce world.

One of the questions that trustees have been asking in recent years is to what extent they may use their powers to invest in assets that meet environmental, social and governance criteria (ESG investments). Although ESG may not be a new concern for many HNWs, many in the industry have seen an increasing number of clients prioritising ESG, and this issue will likely only become more relevant as society becomes more ESG-focused.

A key issue that arises across legal disciplines for HNW families and individuals relates to property interests and their protection, as well as disputes that arise when an interest has not been properly protected. Often this occurs when one person is gifting a sum of money or property to another, but also where people are purchasing jointly or providing contributions to a property owned by another.

Any family law practitioner will be all too familiar with the late call from a prospective client, or indeed one of their advisors, with mere weeks left before a wedding, asking for advice on a nuptial agreement. The wider perception of nuptial agreements is certainly still one of them being a ‘pressure purchase’. All too often they are an afterthought which undermines their complexity but also the thought that needs to go into them from the client’s perspective. This ideology applies not just to the clients themselves, but frequently to professional advisors working in the private client sphere. I would suggest that this is an outdated mindset which fails to recognise the countless scenarios in which a nuptial agreement can assist, and it is a mindset that we as practitioners will need to work to change.

Picture the terms of a discretionary trust deed.  You won't have to dig too far to find an example which includes, in the list of discretionary beneficiaries, the settlor's children, grandchildren and their spouses. 

When a separated couple are going through a divorce, it is good practise for both parties to execute a new Will, in the light of the effect a divorce has on a person's Will.

The timing of the execution of that new Will is likely to vary depending on the circumstances or the advice received at the time. It may be executed prior to the divorce proceedings being formally issued, midway through the process (for example, after a financial settlement has been reached), or on conclusion of the matrimonial proceedings.

A family agricultural business is an atypical one in that it is extremely close knit. Landowners, usually parents, will work long hours on the farm with the assistance of their children, who will often make significant sacrifices to do so with little to no remuneration. This is often on the basis or understanding that one day, they will inherit the farm.

Natural Capital is a catch-all phrase for a range of different actions and approaches, all of which have at their heart the idea of improving the natural environment. 

In the UK, the most well-known example of this is the rewilding that has taken place at the Knepp Estate in West Sussex.  While rewilding has captured many of the headlines, tree planting, seeding flower meadows, de-intensification, organic conversion and the re-wetting of land are all elements of a Natural Capital approach.

This case provides important guidance on: when a claimant’s requirement for reasonable financial provision ends, the high bar a son/ daughter-in-law needs to reach to prove that they have been treated as a “child of the family” for the purposes of a 1975 Act claim, and when the court may exercise its discretion to allow a 1975 Act claim to be brought out of time.

One of the greatest advantages of the Cayman Islands and the other British Overseas Territories ("BOTs") and Crown Dependencies ("CDs") is how much shared history they have with the commonwealth nations and one of the best examples of this is the depth of the connections to the British legal system.

Much of the Cayman Islands' statutory law was originally enacted from equivalent law in the United Kingdom, albeit that it has often departed from the original source significantly over the decades.

We are delighted to present Issue 12 of our Private Client Magazine, the Next Gen Wealth Edition. This issue will feature articles on how the Gen Z’ers navigate wealth succession. Our authors will provide you with an insight into why innovation,philanthropy, family values and influence matter. The articles will further highlight the different generational attitudes towards wealth.

We would like to thank our community partners and contributors for sharing their outlook on the factors that drive the next generation.

A class action lawsuit has been brought in a federal court in California against the auction house Sotheby’s over the auctioning of Bored Ape Yacht Club non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Syed Rahman outlines the questions that require answers regarding decentralised autonomous organisations.

The metaverse and Web3 have been the buzzwords to drop lately. And decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) can be viewed in a similar light.

Yet what needs to be emphasised about DAOs is that they are currently in a legal grey area, as they do not relate to something similar that has previously been defined.

Welcome to our Private Client Magazine Issue 11 - Offshore Edition. This issue will examine recent legal developments in the Middle East, international transparency, non-dom tax regimes and managing family succession planning abroad.

As always, thank you to all of our contributors for sharing their articles with our Private Client community.

This Friday, on the 5^th of May, about 480 of the 3,000 or so aspiring barristers in England and Wales will receive offers for pupillage. With awards of up to £100,000, competition is fierce. The Bar Council’s Pupillage Gateway Report shows that the number of applicants peaked in 2020/21 and it appears to be on the rise again. In 2022/23, there were 2,782 applicants using the Gateway with an average of 11.9 applications per applicant. This gives first timers (on average) a 1 in 10 chance of success.

In February, HM Treasury published the ‘Future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets consultation and call for evidence’ paper. In it are some intriguing indications of how cryptocurrency venues, brokers, and intermediaries are going to be dealt with in the UK. The paper sets out the next (but not final) phase of the government’s approach to regulating cryptoassets.

What is most important to note from the outset is that this paper deals with a very small part of the government’s approach. Nevertheless, an overview offers insight into where we are headed and is useful in understanding the government’s rather weighty regulatory approach, to ascertain what this might mean to banks, businesses, and investors, both in and outside of the UK.

We are delighted to present the 2023 Private Client Tax Special, where our authors discuss a variety of topical issues including taxation of art and cultural property, clean capital, and other key developments we will see over the coming year.

Thank you to our contributors, members and community partners for their support as we begin another busy year for the Private Client community. Please do keep an eye out for our quarterly magazines, with the first issue of 2023 being published in March. 

We are delighted to present the final issue of Private Client Magazine for 2022, where we explore what has been happening around the world during the past year. Our authors cover numerous topics, including technology, ESG investing, post-covid trends, and art finance. Our issue also covers recent developments from the UAE, Singapore, Italy and more.

Thank you to all of our members, contributors, and community partners for their support throughout 2022. The Private Client community continues to grow, we have more events, more magazines, and more content coming, so we look forward to working with you all in 2023.

On 24th August 2022, we welcomed the next generation of Private Client practitioners at Private Client Summer School: The Ultimate Insider's Guide in partnership with ConTrA, located in the beautiful setting of Downing College, Cambridge.

This Summer School Summary rounds up the event, what our delegates learnt, and why it is so important for the next gen to start building their network from an early stage.

We are delighted to present Issue 8 of Private Client Magazine, which discusses all things ‘Next Gen Wealth’. In this bulky edition, our authors cover a range of topics as we approach the anticipated largest inter-generational wealth transfer advisors will have seen. This issue highlights the importance for advisors to adapt, develop, and evolve to accommodate the next generation, and how they are already reshaping the future of their wealth.

Thank you to all our contributors and our community partners for their continued support, we hope you enjoy this abounding issue.

Following the success of our Crypto in Disputes event which took place on the 29th June TL4 are proud to present our Crypto Insights Document 2022. In this new format of curated content, we look to partner with firms to provide in-depth Insights, Reports, Surveys, Journals and more. If you would like to work with us on a future insight or report please do get in touch.

We are delighted to present the Offshore issue of Private Client Magazine. In this edition our contributors discuss a range of topics impacting the offshore world, including crypto, deemed domicile, and onshoring.

We also get to know some of our community better with a series of 60 seconds with interviews, finding out their strangest/most exciting story in the industry, their role models, and what they are most looking forward to for the remainder of 2022.

Thank you to our authors and community partners for their consistent support, we hope you enjoy this latest edition.

In this International Women's Month we want to shine a spotlight on a few truly amazing women in our community as they discuss their journey's to leading positions, highlight the challenges they faced in their progression, share their advice with the next generation of female practitioners as well as further action steps to #breakthebias and forge a more inclusive legal world. The Thought Leaders 4 Women Who Inspire features a series of interviews that we will be publishing over the course of the month to celebrate women and champion change. 

In this International Women's Month we want to shine a spotlight on a few truly amazing women in our community as they discuss their journey's to leading positions, highlight the challenges they faced in their progression, share their advice with the next generation of female practitioners as well as further action steps to #breakthebias and forge a more inclusive legal world. The Thought Leaders 4 Women Who Inspire features a series of interviews that we will be publishing over the course of the month to celebrate women and champion change. 

In this International Women's Month we want to shine a spotlight on a few truly amazing women in our community as they discuss their journey's to leading positions, highlight the challenges they faced in their progression, share their advice with the next generation of female practitioners as well as further action steps to #breakthebias and forge a more inclusive legal world. The Thought Leaders 4 Women Who Inspire features a series of interviews that we will be publishing over the course of the month to celebrate women and champion change. 

In this International Women's Month we want to shine a spotlight on a few truly amazing women in our community as they discuss their journey's to leading positions, highlight the challenges they faced in their progression, share their advice with the next generation of female practitioners as well as further action steps to #breakthebias and forge a more inclusive legal world. Today we launch our ThoughtLadies that inspire campaign featuring a series of interviews that we will be publishing over the course of the month to celebrate women and champion change. 

Issue 6 of Private Client Magazine is out and our authors are talking all things Contentious Trusts - from Sham trusts and the protectors’ power of consent, to NFT’s, digital art and money laundering. We also find out a little bit more about our members with a series of quickfire 60 second interviews. As we settle into the new year, 2022 will bring fresh knowledge, insights, and opportunities to bring the Private Client community together. We predict an action-packed year, and we look forward to welcoming you at some of our events both virtually, and in-person

Q) What is your key area of practice?

A) I focus my practice on dispute resolution issues, including contested estates, acting for high net worth individuals in private trust disputes, as well as commercial dispute resolution and arbitration.

Q) What is your key area of practice?

A) Commercial Dispute Resolution focused on Contentious Trusts in Guernsey and the BVI.

Q) What is your key area of practice?

A) My work is primarily personal tax advice, with a strong focus on international clients both with or looking to have a presence in the UK.

Q) What is your key area of practice?

A) Contentious trusts & probate

Q) What is your key area of practice?

A) At present I do a mixture of non-contentious estate planning and contentious trusts and probate work, with a view to specializing into the latter once I have a strong foundation in both practices.

Q) What is your key area of practice?

A) Trusts and inheritance disputes.

Q) What is your key area of practice?

A) I’m an associate in our Trust, Estate and Inheritance Disputes team. We also cover Court of Protection work alongside our non-contentious elder law specialists. I am one year qualified so my practice is still pretty broad – I would say roughly half my clients are charities looking to defend probate or inheritance claims, and the rest are a mix of private individuals and trustees/executors

Q) What is your key area of practice?

A) I specialise in contentious trusts and pensions disputes.

Q) What is your key area of practice?

A) I deal with trusts and estates disputes of all types, both onshore and offshore.

Q) What is your key area of practice?

A) Commercial chancery

Q) What is your key area of practice?

A) Dispute Resolution – Contentious Trusts and Probate

Q) What is your key area of practice?

A) Private client tax - dual qualified US/UK

Q) What is your key area of practice?

A) Everything that comes under the heading of ‘Private Wealth Disputes’. This is a broad church and covers disputes relating to trusts, estates, lifetime gifts, as well as proprietary estoppel claims, claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 and Court of Protection matters. My work frequently has an international, multi-jurisdictional element.

Q) What is your key area of practice?

A) I am building a varied practice across all of Chambers’ core areas of work. This includes private client, insolvency, commercial and real property disputes.

Q) What is your key area of practice?

A) I work in the international private client and trusts team at Collas Crill.

On Thursday 26th August 2021, we opened the doors to our first in-person event at ThoughtLeaders4 by kicking it off with Private Client Summer School: The Ultimate Insider’s Guide. For most delegates, this was the first event they had attended in over 18 months. For everyone in attendance at the summer school, there was a real sense of novelty to be back in the room where delegates were able to move freely, catch up, and begin to plant the seeds into relationships that will likely grow as they do in the industry.

In the latest issue of the Private Client Magazine, we present to you a ‘Year in Review’, which discusses the most significant trends and cases over the past 12 months. This edition also features an In Focus supplement on ‘Next Gen’, which tackles topical trends such as ESG, mental health, and generational wealth. Thank you to all of our authors, members, readers and Community Partners for their endless support and contribution. 2022 will no doubt bring new thoughts, ideas and trends, and we look forward to capturing new content and industry insight as we continue to navigate the legal maze.

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The Trustee (Amendment) Act 2021 (the "Amendment") came into force on 13 May 2021 and greatly enhances BVI's trusts legislation.

The Amendment inserts a new section 58B to the Trustee Act, expanding the court's jurisdiction to vary, add to, revoke or replace any provision of a trust. It builds on existing rules that allow the court to approve, on behalf of minor and unborn beneficiaries and other persons who are unable to approve themselves, arrangements that amend trusts.

Issue 4 is live! A year on from the launch of our Private Client Community we continue to see growth in the breadth, engagement and commitment from our members. Emerging from a pandemic leaves us with even more of
a need to look to peers for inspiration, knowledge and confidence.

Thank you to our contributors for their interpretations on the pressure trustees have faced in the face of change. We also express our gratitude to our Community Partners whose support allows us to deliver the highest quality of content.

2021 isn’t exactly starting off how we’d hoped but here we are. We remain desperate to return to this so-called ‘new normal’ but for now, we continue to adapt. The true success of our growing community is a reflection of the passion and focus of every single person involved and we continue to generate thought-provoking content that comes to their first-hand experiences.

Thank you to our authors, readers and members and our Community Partners for their continued support. We are excited to show what we have planned for later on this year so watch this space…

Read Here!

Deliver Value through Virtual Visibility.

Understand what is unique about the ThoughtLeaders4 community approach and how you can add Value to our Communities and be Visible through our Virtual platform.

To find out more about our VVV packages DOWNLOAD OUR BROCHURE

“I personally have felt for some time that non-contentious Private Client world in particular lacks a really thriving community aimed at the Next Generation of the wealthy and their advisors and this is very much what I hope this will become” - Chris Moorcroft, Harbottle & Lewis, Next Gen Wealth Founding Committee Member

ThoughtLeaders4 Next Gen Wealth initiative is delighted to bring you the Second Edition of the Private Client Magazine, showcasing the diverse interest, breadth and depth of the knowledge of our community.

Read Here!

A couple of months ago few people in the legal world had heard of virtual mediation. Thanks to Zoom’s confidential breakout room technology, virtual mediation has been widely adopted by mediators and litigators who have adapted quickly. Once the Rubicon is crossed, there is no going back.

We are delighted to bring you our inaugural edition of the Private Clint Magazine, connecting you with the global private client community in the midst of lockdown.

Debt, death and divorce: often grimly cited as the estate agent’s best friends, they are also three main harbingers of trust litigation. The last of these can be particularly troublesome for trustees, who can find themselves in a difficult position when a beneficiary (or beneficiaries) of a discretionary trust divorce, especially when it is taking place in the English courts

We are delighted to publish the 2025 Contentious Trusts edition of our Private Client Magazine. In this issue, we delve into the evolving landscape of contentious trusts, exploring key legal developments, landmark cases, and emerging trends that are shaping the field. With insights from leading experts, this issue provides valuable perspectives on dispute resolution, fiduciary duties, and the complexities of modern trust structures. This issue also features exclusive interviews with industry professionals, offering first hand insights into the challenges and opportunities in contentious trusts today.

We are delighted to present the 2025 Tax Edition of our Private Client Magazine. In this issue, we cover some of the most significant developments impacting HNW individuals and families in the year ahead. It has been a busy year, from the UK General Election, to the changes to non-dom tax rules, and this annual edition will delve into all the opportunities and issues facing our tax practitioners for 2025.

Thank you to all our contributors for sharing their insights for this year’s edition.

We are thrilled to introduce Issue 17 of the Private Client magazine, 2024 In Review: Private Client Around The World. This edition explores the dynamic landscape of Private Client across the globe, featuring an engaging collection of articles contributed by experts from within the community. Keep an eye out for more exciting events and thought-provoking content as we continue to celebrate and unite the global Private Client community. 

When you reflect on the Year of the Longtail, (I’m still Manx so can’t say R.A.T.), 2020, it could be the year that saved the HK private wealth market!

Though undoubtedly a year of disruption and upheaval, 2020 also brought about opportunities. When you look at Q3 2019, we were amid a period of political unrest that saw millions of people take to the streets and market commentators were highlighting the movement of wealth from Hong Kong to Singapore. I myself had noticed the transition of some peers attracted by the stable climate, more business opportunities and bigger apartments! Then towards the end of the year, we recorded our first case of COVID-19 and everything changed...

The wealth management landscape has been evolving over recent years, with international developments such as Brexit, political and environmental challenges, regulatory change and digital advancements all playing their part. Then in March 2020, the coronavirus pandemic plunged the world into uncharted waters.

James has been the commercial lead on many globally renowned Private Client events and forums  and has over 10 years of experience of curating communities across the full spectrum of the Private Client advisory market.

James’s arrival re-unites him with Laura Golding and along with the ThoughtLeaders4 directors, gives over 30 years’ experience within Private Client, and will add continued impetus to an already rapidly growing community.

Case study fact pattern for virtual event - 19th November 2020

Case study outine for TL4 Virtual Community X-Over on 19 November 2020 is a unique virtual event bringing together HNW Divorce, FIRE and Private Client experts.

This follows our previous piece, Divorced from reality: Pugachev, Webb, and illusory trusts in divorce proceedings, which was published in the August 2020 edition.

On 3 August 2020 the Privy Council handed down its eagerly awaited Webb v Webb ([2020] UKPC 22) judgment in the appeal from the Cook Islands. Its judgment grapples with several important issues, with perhaps the most eye-catching aspect

Event slides from Death & Divorce webinar

Now that we’re all working remotely and practising social distancing, we’re seeing our clients’ meetings with candidates moving to video platforms such as WebEx, Zoom or Skype. As this is a new experience for many of us, we thought we would share our top 10 tips for successful video interviews.

In England and Wales, we are free to leave our estates to whomever we choose. This is the principle of testamentary freedom, and it is a principle the Court is keen to uphold. Whilst we have this freedom in England and Wales, we also have the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (‘the 1975 Act’). A statute that was implemented to protect and provide for those individuals where it would be unjust for them not to receive financial provision from the deceased’s estate.

Many protectors or their advisors will already have navigated difficult issues during the recession following the financial crisis in 2008, others will have done so even earlier. The issues which arise from the physical restrictions placed on us and our movement during the current crisis may be quite unusual, but the economic issues arising from the Covid-19 crisis are likely to be similar to previous downturns.

The profound impact which the current pandemic has had on all aspects of life cannot be understated. This, of course, includes the global economic downturn; in some quarters it has been compared to, or indeed said to be likely to eclipse, the Great Depression

It is widely publicised that economists and financial observers estimate that, over the next few decades, assets worth many trillions of dollars will pass from one generation to the next - dubbed “The Great Wealth Transfer”. This passing of wealth is likely to take many forms including the transfer of individual influence over existing wealth-holding structures and as such it is clear that the fiduciary industry will experience the effects of this intergenerational change.

Regardless of whether you previously read books on pandemics, were fully au fait with the Spanish flu of 1918, and/ or at least broadly knew that epidemics on a grand scale occur about once every 100 years, the Corona Virus has shocked the world in its speed of spread and truly terrible consequences. The death toll as of this writing is almost 29,000 for the U.K. and 250,000 worldwide.

Trusts are settled for many reasons but succession planning is usually featured at the top of this list. Many settlors like the idea of leaving a legacy, of leaving their accumulated wealth in safe hands and of doing what they can to minimise if not completely eliminate family disharmony after their passing.

Collective investment vehicles are very familiar to high net worth investors (“HNWIs”) and their connected structures (trusts/family offices etc). In fact, many such HNWIs are key investors for new fund launches. Most such funds are put together by wealth managers looking to profit from the management of the fund.

The archaic nature of England’s law on the execution of Wills has been called into question in recent years, but never more so than in the last couple of months with the outbreak of Covid-19. Embracing modern technology in Will writing has moved from being something that the industry felt it “should” do, to a more urgent plea to allow those that need to execute a Will now, to do so, safely and validly. Other countries have been more reactive introduced emergency legislation to deal with the situation, but so far, England has failed to do similarly

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the planet to grind to a halt and will have a lasting economic impact. Whilst the severity of this impact remains to be seen, we know from previous economic downturns that well-connected elites in high risk jurisdictions have often used improper methods to recoup their personal losses.

Event slides for Tax for Entertainers & Sports People 

Economic uncertainty brought by the Covid-19 pandemic will undoubtedly have a profound effect on the value of trust assets. Industry experts predict steep rises in insolvencies, affecting key industries. Many businesses may become cash-flow/balance sheet insolvent (if they are not already).

Slides from the Trusts in Divorce event on the 6th July

Crib sheet of cases referred to in recent virtual event

The Coronavirus pandemic reminds us of Simone de Beauvoir’s “All men are mortal” Both encourage us to re-evaluate our priorities, prompting us to seize new opportunities otherwise ignored under the “business as usual” regime.

The profound impact which the current pandemic has had on all aspects of life cannot be understated. This, of course, includes the global economic downturn;  in some quarters it has been compared to, or indeed said to be likely to eclipse, the Great Depression.

Trusts are settled for many reasons but succession planning is usually featured at the top of this list. Many settlors like the idea of leaving a legacy, of leaving their accumulated wealth in safe hands and of doing what they can to minimise if not completely eliminate family disharmony after their passing.

Death and taxes may be the only certainties in this world, but exactly how tax is raised on death and on lifetime gifts is subject to tinkering and political debate. A new cross-party parliamentary report proposes radical changes to completely change, rather than just tinker around the edges, how inheritance tax would be charged in the UK and, if ever adopted, would have significant impact on your wealth and succession planning.

Parents are increasingly reluctant to provide financial assistance to their adult children because they are concerned that the money could be lost in a divorce. We are often approached by anxious parents who are keen to ensure that family wealth intended for their children and grandchildren won’t fall into the hands of their estranged son or daughter in law, should they later divorce.

While we are all aware of the highly complex legal, financial, commercial and international issues raised by HNW divorces, how much do we know about the personalities that have evolved within this section of society? What might we encounter of the psychology and emotional aspects of the parties involved? HNW and UHNW individuals face and develop a set of challenges within life that might be unfamiliar to those who do not inhabit that world of affluence. The very nature of their circumstances allows them to distance and detach themselves from the everyday concerns that occupy most of the planet, the need to survive financial demands on daily basis, to make ends meet. Consequently there is often little awareness, sympathy or empathy for the human and existential struggles that they, like every other human on the planet, have to face.