Services
Wills
Drafting and updating wills that reflect your actual wishes and current circumstances — including the situations that most often catch people out, such as remarriage (which automatically revokes an existing will under UK law), blended families, and appointing guardians for young children. I’ll help you think through the practical questions, not just the legal wording.
Trusts
Lifetime and Will trusts, including life interest trusts (often used to provide for a surviving spouse or partner while protecting capital from care fees, creditors or a future remarriage) and discretionary trusts (giving trustees flexibility to support beneficiaries as circumstances change, and a popular tool for inheritance tax and succession planning). I’ll help you choose the right structure for your family’s situation.
Lasting Powers of Attorney
Property & financial affairs LPAs and health & welfare LPAs, so someone you trust can act for you if you’re ever unable to act for yourself. Without one in place, your family may need to make an expensive, time-consuming application to the Court of Protection — often taking six to nine months. I’ll also advise on registering your LPA promptly, so it’s ready when it’s needed.
Inheritance Tax Planning
Reviewing your estate and putting a plan in place to manage your Inheritance Tax position — through trusts, lifetime gifting, and structuring your will — as part of a wider estate plan rather than in isolation. This is an area that changes as the rules change, so I keep this advice current.
Asset Protection
Protecting family wealth against risks such as care fees, creditors, divorce, or it being lost within a generation or two — often using trust structures that keep control with trustees while still benefiting the people you care about. Research suggests a large share of inherited family wealth is lost by the second and third generations; good structuring is how you plan against that.
Business & Succession Planning
For business owners, I also advise on succession planning alongside your accountant or financial adviser — including Family Investment Companies as an alternative to a traditional trust, and shareholder or cross-option agreements that protect a business when an owner dies or becomes unable to work. These sit alongside your personal estate plan rather than apart from it.
Not sure where to start?
Email me at steven@trustlawyer.co.uk or schedule a call to talk through your situation — no obligation at this stage.
