Specialist trust solicitors

Comprehensive advice for trustees, institutions and professional advisers

Trusts can play a valuable role in wealth and succession planning. But along with opportunity, they can also bring complexity. That’s why it’s so important to have the right expertise in your corner. And this is especially true in litigious times, when trusts and trustees are increasingly scrutinised and questioned, both by beneficiaries and third parties.

At Clarke Willmott, our Private Client team has the skills and the experience to help individuals and companies to navigate a complicated and ever-evolving landscape of tax legislation and reporting obligations, however diverse and complex the assets involved.

We also have excellent relationships with trusted partners at home and in other jurisdictions, making us well-placed to offer high-quality advice that is both comprehensive in scope and fully bespoke to your specific situation and requirements.

Who we advise on trusts and UK tax

Clarke Willmott has a wealth of experience in advising individual and institutional trustees, both in the UK and offshore. We are often instructed by accountants, trust companies and other law firms who value the quality of our advice.

Alongside professional advisers, we also advise individuals with inherited wealth, recipients of personal injury compensation, foreign nationals and others with international business, charity or property interests.

We are also adept in advising beneficiaries and families in all areas of trust law, including the establishment of a trust, related trust structures and the resolution of disputes concerning trusts.

How we can help you

Our Private Client team boasts a wealth of specialist knowledge and includes members of STEP (the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) and several chartered tax advisers. Our expertise includes the following:

• Advising on the use of trusts, protectorships and other fiduciary arrangements for wealth planning, succession, taxation and asset protection purposes
• Advising on the transfer of trust portfolios between trustee companies
• Advising on trust disputes
• Advising trustees of private charitable trusts on their duties and regulation
• Writing bespoke and standard form trust documentation and advising trustees on bank loan documentation
• Appointing and removing trustees and protectors
• Administering trust assets, making income and capital distributions, maintenance of accounting records and monitoring of investment performance

Specialist advice across jurisdictions

Should you require cross-border advice, we have well-established relationships with trusted connections in other jurisdictions who are ready to share their expertise.

We invest considerable time and resources in developing and maintaining these relationships, so that we can offer you a seamless and reliable service. However, should you have a preferred law firm in another jurisdiction, we’ll be happy to collaborate with them.

Why choose Clarke Willmott for trusts advice?

• We have experience in establishing and managing private trust companies, purpose trusts and foundations, including all associated issues such as relevant tax and regulatory regimes in other jurisdictions
• As we’re independent, we can work with the right firm for your specific concern, every time – whether it’s one of our trusted contacts, your preferred law firm or another with specialist knowledge
• Our Private Client team is one of the largest in the UK and has been advising individuals and their families for over a hundred years
• Our service is discreet and highly personalised. We work closely with you to deliver advice that meets your individual needs, while giving you flexibility and control.
• We are committed to acting as your long-term adviser, combining first class technical legal advice with a wider perspective.
• We can act as professional trustee through Clarke Willmott Trust Corporation Limited

Contact a specialist trusts solicitor

For specialist advice on trusts and alternative forms of asset protection, contact our specialist team of private client solicitors now on 0800 652 8025 or contact us online. We have lawyers based across the country in Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, Southampton, Taunton, London and Birmingham.