Legal Services

Trusts, Probate and Tax

Trusts take a number of forms and have a number of uses, and are most commonly aimed at the elimination or mitigation of tax, the protection of disadvantaged or infirm individuals, and the postponement of the inheritance of assets by young persons.

So far as the administration of deceased persons estates is concerned, we take this subject very seriously. We provide a comprehensive service to executors of wills, which ranges from legal advice on succession and inheritance tax to the physical storage of assets and the keeping of books of account. Income and capital gains tax compliance is also dealt with in-house. Occasionally, particularly in the case of estates which we have not ourselves planned with the client, a variation of the beneficial arrangements is required, and we can advise on the trust and tax implications of this as well.

The key areas in which we can help include:

Advice on the creation of discretionary, interest in possession, and accumulation and maintenance trusts.
Insurance trusts.
The variation of trusts by trustees, beneficiaries or by application to the Court.
Management of trust investments through our nominee company Winckworth & Pemberton Nominees Limited.
Trust disputes.
Income, capital gains and inheritance tax advice and compliance.
The administration of deceased persons estates.
Variation of wills and intestacies.
Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
Probate disputes.
Accounting and tax compliance in the administration of an estate.
All property transactions in relation to all of the above.

“Hugh MacDougald heads the private client team at Winckworth Sherwood, which benefited from an influx of practitioners from asb law in 2005. The practice covers the full range of trusts and estates planning, from succession management to tax advice and compliance for a client base of high-net-worth individuals, landed estates, charities and and foreign-domiciled trusts and individuals.” Legal 500, 2007-08

Please click here to download an overview of our experience in the administration of private and charitable trusts .

For further information, please contact Hugh MacDougald.