Trusts, probate and estates: contentious

Trusts, probate and estates: contentious

We have long been regarded as a leading chambers in the fields of trusts, wills and probate disputes, with our reputation for excellence reinforced by constant recommendations in legal directories.

Our barristers not only have outstanding intellectual ability but also commercial acumen and sensitivity to the needs of clients, with a commitment to providing an excellent quality of service.

Areas of expertise include:

• The scope of trustees’ powers and duties
• Construction and rectification of trust documents
• Probate disputes, including issues of construction and rectification of wills and testamentary capacity
• Administration of estates, including cross-border issues
• Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
• Trusts in a commercial context, including employee benefit trusts and Quistclose trusts
• International trust and estates disputes, including conflicts of law issues
• Trust issues in matrimonial proceedings
• Charitable trusts
• Advising on and attending applications to the Court of Protection – experience includes but not limited to, acting for Protected Person (via Official Solicitor or litigation friend), interested parties and the Deputy
• Professional negligence in trust and estates matters
• Art and cultural property law (more information here)

Our barristers have a wealth of shared knowledge and experience. We are trusted and valued for our skills and know-how in the private client field. Our annual Wilberforce Trust Litigation Conference is a firm fixture for leading private client practitioners, providing a forum in which we can examine and discuss recent trends and developments with our clients.

We are regularly instructed by accountants, banks and financial institutions, as well as solicitors, attorneys and advocates. We are experienced in handling international work in offshore jurisdictions including Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Gibraltar, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Rankings and recognition

Wilberforce is ranked as a tier 1 set in Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500 for Traditional Chancery and Private Client (Trusts & Probate) work.

Chambers & Partners 2024: Wilberforce Chambers has an impressive group of barristers who handle complex disputes surrounding trusts and estates, and demonstrate multi-jurisdictional knowledge of the law. “The team here is tried, tested, battle-hardened and excellent,” comments a source. Recently, members of the set have appeared in a number of significant matters including Halabi v Equity Trust, which looked at fundamental principles of trusts and insolvency and their interrelationship. As one interviewee said: “Wilberforce is the go-to set for tricky cases that sit at the interface between different areas of law. They are the set to go to when you need someone really skilled and you’re seeking out the best advice.”

The Legal 500 2024: Wilberforce Chambers is ‘a leading set on all matters relating to trusts’ and ‘a real powerhouse in private wealth work’. ‘Trusts expert’ Clare Stanley KC is ‘a persuasive advocate’; sherepresented Simon Halabi in the Halabi v Equity Trust case before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, an appeal from the Jersey courts concerning if trustees have priority over other creditors of an insolvent trust. In addition, Jonathan Davey KC represented HMRC in Levack v Bay Trust International test case concerning the doctrine of mistake, and trustees placing themselves at risk of mistakes as applied to tax structures, in this case one established by the practice of struck-off solicitor-turned-pornographer Paul Baxendale-Walker. Turning to the set’s juniors. Simon Atkinson represented the trustees in Goodrich v AB – a case concerning if provisions in a trust deed drawn up in 1990 should, in the light of subsequent legislation, should be interpreted as including stepchildren as children and civil partners as spouses.

Chambers Bar Awards 2023: Wilberforce wins Chancery Set of the Year

The Legal 500 Bar Awards 2022: Wilberforce wins Chancery Set of the Year

Chambers Bar Awards 2022: Clare Stanley KC wins Chancery Silk of the Year

Chambers Bar Awards 2021: Thomas Grant KC wins Chancery Silk of the Year

Chambers High Net Worth Awards 2020: Wilberforce wins of Set of the Year

The Legal 500 Bar Awards 2020: Wilberforce wins Private Client Set of the Year

Chambers Bar Awards 2018: Wilberforce wins Chancery Set of the Year

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