Preventing & resolving disputes
- Banking litigation
- Board & shareholder disputes
- Commercial disputes
- Commercial property disputes
- Construction disputes
- Crisis management
- Debt recovery
- Defamation
- Defective goods & services
- Discrimination claims
- Education claims
- Employment disputes
- Fraud
- Health & safety
- Injunctions
- Insolvency
- Insurance
- IP disputes
- IT disputes
- Judicial review
- Marine law
- Mediation & arbitration
- Pensions disputes
- Professional negligence
- Residential landlord & tenant disputes
- Trusts & probate
- Warranty claims
Latest news
- Beware public law arguments in anti-social behaviour possession proceedings
- All change in April for employment law
- Contractual power allows employer to change employment terms without employees’ agreement
- Summary judgment as tool to control litigation costs
- Court of Appeal rules in BA crucifix case
See more Press releases
RSS news feeds
Home | Services | Services for business | Preventing and resolving disputes | Trusts & probate
Trusts & probate
We have an experienced team of lawyers handling a wide variety of such matters.
Protecting family assets
We know that family relationships can be put under enormous strain and feelings run high where there is a perceived unfairness because of the terms of a will or lifetime gift of property.
Increasingly, problems arise between, for example, adult children from a first marriage and the surviving step-parent.
Brothers and sisters quarrel over their respective "shares" in a parent's estate.
Questions of mental capacity and / or undue influence arise if an elderly or infirm person makes a new will shortly before their death.
Disappointed hopes lead to disputes if promises made during a lifetime are not reflected in the will.
Sometimes the claims of friendship are stronger than those of the blood relations. Errors on the part of solicitors in drafting a will may not come to light for many years and problems arise after the death of the testator.
In all cases, we aim to give clear and cost effective advice. Our approach is sympathetic but also pragmatic. Wherever possible, we encourage parties to seek to resolve their differences by negotiation or mediation both in order to heal family rifts and so that everyone buys into the eventual outcome.
Our clients:
- Executors
- Administrators
- Beneficiaries
- Potential claimants under a will or intestacy
Our expertise:
- Inheritance Act claims
- Recitification of defective wills
- Advice on undue influence
- Advice on mental capacity
- Proprietary estoppel
Trusts and settlements
- We advise Trustees on the performance of their powers and duties
- We advise about the removal of Trustees
- We advise beneficiaries on potential claims against Trustees and their advisers where there has been a reduction in trust assets
Search the site
Enter the keywords below to search:
Get in touch
Angela Taylor
Partner
T: 03700 86 8395
I: +44 (0)1908 48 8395
E: angela.taylor@shoosmiths.co.uk