Estate Protection and Divorce

Summary

Richard Dew - Trusts in divorce and 1975 Act claims – illusory protection?

In this talk, Richard will cover the following:

· Do trusts protect assets from divorce or claims under the 1975 Act?

· What considerations are involved in ‘attacking’ a trust and what powers can the court exert?

· What terms should be included in trusts to protect from or avoid claims?

· Are there alternative vehicles that give better protection?

James Poole - Forfeiture and Exclusion clauses in Wills

In this talk, James will cover the following:

· Can you draft a Will in order to protect it from challenge?

· Are forfeiture clauses valid?

· What effect does the court give them?

The talk will start at 4.30pm following a chance to network from 4.00pm and will end at 6.00pm

Please note this will be at Leonardo Hotel Brighton Station BN1 4DJ.

There are various car parks around, the nearest is Brighton Railway Station Car Park, Stroudley Road, BN1 4DJ (but this can fill up quickly).

You may also wish to try Churchill Square BN1 2RU , Russell Road BN1 2DX, Regency Square BN1 2FG or Brighton Theatre BN1 1US.

Richard Dew – Ten Old Square

Richard Dew’s practice is focussed on Wills, Estates and Trusts and related professional negligence. His practice is predominantly litigation, and he is frequently involved in large and complex claims. He also advises and represents in Court of Protection matters and provides expert advice in respect of tax and tax planning (principally capital taxation).

He is a former chair of the STEP Contentious Trusts and Estates SIG and is an elected member of the Chancery Bar Association Committee. He also sits on the Law Society’s Wills and Equity Committee. He is a member of STEP and ACTAPS.

Richard is an editor of Rossdale’s Administration of Estates and regularly writes and lectures on chancery and private client matters.

Ranked as a Star individual in Chancery: Traditional and Band 1 in both Trusts and Court of Protection: Property & Affairs in Chambers UK 2022.

Richard has been shortlisted by Chambers UK for the (Chancery) ‘Junior of the Year’ award 2021.

James Poole – Ten Old Square

James is regularly recommended for the quality of his legal analysis, his persuasive advocacy in court, the practicality of his advice, and his sensitive and responsive interaction with clients.

He is ranked by Legal 500 for both Private Client: Trusts and Probate and Property Litigation, and by Chambers & Partners and Chambers HNW for his Traditional Chancery practice. His inter-disciplinary expertise means that much of his work concerns disputes involving multiple areas of law. This is reflected in some of his recent reported decisions, which include: Gohil v Kumara [2023] EWHC 1809 (Ch), Abdelnoor v Barker [2022] EWHC 1468 (Ch),Ware v Ware [2021] EWHC 694 (Ch) and Fantini v Scrutton [2020] EWHC 1552 (Ch).

James’ busy practice spans a number of Chambers’ key practice areas, and particularly focuses on:

· Probate, inheritance and trust disputes, including 1975 Act claims, trustee/executor removal and TLATA claims;

· Landlord and Tenant issues, both residential and commercial, including pubs and licensed premises;

· Property, including covenants, easements, nuisance and boundary disputes;

· Court of Protection applications, particularly concerning Property and Affairs;

· Charity law, including advising charitable trustees and disputes over charity property; and

· Commercial and contractual disputes, including arbitrations and interim applications such as freezing injunctions.

James is a skilled and highly effective advocate, who appears regularly in the High Court and County Courts. He also has significant experience of offshore litigation, particularly in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

James is (with Sidney Ross) one of the authors of the Fifth Edition of Ross on Inheritance Act Claims.

Before coming to the Bar, James taught at secondary and tertiary level in England and Vanuatu, and is equally comfortable being instructed in both English and Bislama.

James is also a qualified and experienced mediator, and welcomes instructions as a mediator in any of the areas in which he practices.

Dates for your diaries

Do look out for our future events.

Our next seminar is planned for 2nd April 2025 with the ever popular Anthony Nixon.

Our Sponsors

We are delighted to be sponsored by:

At Title Research, we provide trusted genealogical research and asset repatriation services for legal professionals. Everything we do is designed to streamline estate administration, to take the effort out of locating the correct people or assets, and to mitigate against the risk of future dispute or complications. We can help you at every stage of your clients’ estate administration process and are the only major UK genealogist to solely focus on supporting private client professionals.

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