Private clients
For many years our private client lawyers have supported families, wealthy individuals, landowners, entrepreneurs, investors, trustees (from individuals through to offshore trustees), accountants, independent financial advisors and other professionals, both on and offshore on a range of relevant legal areas common to private wealth.
While we continually attract new private clients, many have been with us for several generations, and we pride ourselves on providing a partner-led, collaborative approach supporting clients (nationally and internationally) and building lifelong relationships.
From financial land tax planning to the future succession of your business or estate, our private client team work closely with you and other professionals to provide tailor-made solutions.
The private client team is ranked first for private client work for the Midlands by both Chambers UK and the Legal 500 and we are all members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
Our goal is to guide you through the labyrinth of private client laws, rules and legislation and alleviate your concerns. We do this through effective and timely planning to help you and your family preserve your estate.
Our private client services and advice include:
- Wills - including those with complex trust provisions, to help protect assets for the next generation.
- Succession of family estates and businesses through generations, and related estate planning.
- Setting up and restructuring trusts and all aspects of trust administration
- Professional trustee services – either through an individual or our trust company Mowbray Trustees Limited.
- Specialist advice on commercial trusts family investment companies, agricultural and other family partnerships.
- Tax - primarily inheritance tax including agricultural and business property relief, capital gains and income tax, succession and estate planning. Tax and legal advice for non-UK domiciled individuals.
- Trust and estate disputes.
- Probate and administering the estates of deceased individuals with complex business, agricultural and tax implications. Including estates involving overseas assets.
- Powers of attorney and appointment of deputies. Dealing with the court of protection where a person has lost capacity.
Our clients
Our clients include trustees (from individuals through to corporate trustees), entrepreneurs, landowners, investors, accountants, independent financial advisors and other professionals, both onshore and offshore.
We also provide wider legal services for private clients under the supervision of the client partner, including property, litigation, commercial and corporate work, and corporate and property tax.
Featured experience
Family business planning
We advised the owners of a large international family business about effective succession planning by creating trusts to own shares, a family constitution and involving the next generation in the business. We also prepared wills including trusts and specialist lasting powers of attorney to assist should the shareholders lose mental capacity.
Complex estates
We frequently administer large estates with complex business, agricultural and tax implications often involving assets overseas. We also advise on post-death tax planning and rearrangements and the restructuring of will trusts to fit with the family’s requirements. For example, we administered the estate of a deceased landowning client (£20m+) involving complex tax implications, gifts, tax exemptions, offshore eassets, tax planning and litigation.
Acting as trustee
We act as trustee of a number of client trusts, the high value ones between £100m and £700m. We provide advice to the trustees and deal with the trust, including acting as trustee of and advising about the tax status of a large provident fund.
Wills and estate planning
Advising extensively on wills, trusts and inheritance tax and capital gains tax planning with high value assets particularly for current or former business and land owning families. Preparing bespoke wills including flexible trust arrangements and letters of wishes to help ensure that the family inherit assets in the most flexible manner that fits the circumstances at the time.
For example, we advised a client (£20m +) about how best to draft his will to look after his wife and children from a former marriage. We prepared a will including a discretionary trust to receive business and agricultural assets and a flexible elife interest trust for the remaining assets. This enables the executors/ trustees to look after the surviving spouse with the flexibility to transfer funds to children in a tax efficient way. It can also help protect the estate for the next generations from the risk of death, divorce or bankruptcy of the beneficiaries
Testimonials
Any professional firm is only as good as the people you are dealing with. So what makes the team is the quality and service received from the people. I spent most of my career as a private client tax partner with a major international firm of chartered accountants. At that time I dealt with several other firms of solicitors on private client issues. But whenever I had a choice I without hesitation chose Browne Jacobson.
Expertise, credibility and delivery.
In depth technical knowledge applied in a practical way.
Competence, approachable and accessible.
What we do
We regularly advise estates clients, individuals, trusts and charities on their corporate and commercial arrangements - including in relation to family office family investment companies, trusteeships over business interests and succession.
For example, on the corporate side in addition to the support we provide in relation to transactions and funding, we advise high net worth individuals on a range of issues relating to their business interests from structuring or realising their investments through to succession issues in relation to owner managed businesses.
We also advise on the setting up and ongoing governance of family investment companies and angel investors on their investments in trading companies and in relation to the use of partnerships and LLPs. We also have a corporate trustee which acts as a trustee in many of our clients’ trust arrangements.
On the commercial side we advise on contracts and arrangements relating to any commercial activities carried out by our clients or activities relating to their properties, business, or assets.
Our property and agricultural team provide a full service to agricultural, rural and estate clients including advising on property, planning, development, litigation, and agricultural entitlements.
We have been trusted advisors to a number of family and charitable estates for several decades. We handle their property transactions, registration of estates with the Land Registry and increasingly commercial and strategic work as estates seek new ways to diversify beyond existing farming enterprises.
Key facts about our team and the benefits we offer rinclude:
Our clients
Trustees (from individuals through to corporate trustees and charity boards), entrepreneurs, landowners, investors, accountants, independent financial advisors, and other professionals, both onshore and offshore including Wyggeston Hospital Estate, Belvoir Estate, Natural England, National Trust and the Environment Agency.
Our expertise
A team of specialist lawyers working nationally, including lawyers as members of the Country Landowners Association and Agricultural Law Association. We regularly attend their meetings and get involved in discussions on issues relevant to our clients.
Strategic development advice
On strategic land matters such as option promotion agreements, development agreements, planning permission, joint ventures and terminating agricultural tenancies.
Specialist agricultural advice
On maximising eligibility for business property and agricultural property reliefs for inheritance tax purposes, reviews of agricultural estates to optimise tax efficient negotiating transfer of reliefs and retentions in land transactions and regulatory advice.
Estate management
We advise on agricultural and estate management matters, including farm business tenancies, grazing licences, subsidy schemes, minerals and commercial leases.
We attend trustee and management meetings and offer rfocused advice relevant to individual requirements if required. In addition, we work collaboratively with other professionals such as accountants, agents and consultants.
We are members of the Country Landowners Association and Agricultural Law Association, through which we regularly attend meetings and get involved in discussions on issues relevant to our clients.
Our criminal, compliance and regulatory team is well used to reacting to fatal and serious accidents which often raise issues covering police involvement, privileged internal investigations, disclosure to the HSE, access rights to documents and equipment, questioning of employees and contractors and the appeals against improvement and/or prohibition notices.
The team both prosecutes and defends, regularly supporting business and individuals in a wide range of sectors, including those within the agricultural sector.
This includes:
- Defending companies/partnerships and individuals facing gross negligence/ manslaughter investigations/ health and safety investigations involving commercial and farm related accidents. These could result in investigations by all types of linked government bodies including HSE, Environment Agency, BIS, DEFRA and HMRC.
- Alleged breaches of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.
- Acting for farmers and members of the shooting fraternity in firearms s related offences successful appeals to the crown court for firearms revocation cases.
- Advising on health and safety aspects applicable to commercial shoots.
- Local authority trading standards investigations involving milk contamination; animal tagging/ passport breaches; animal cruelty cases involving the importation/ sale/transportation of livestock; alleged breaches of the Food Hygiene Regs 2006; Egg and Chick Regs 2009.
We regularly advise estates clients, individuals, trusts and charities on their corporate and commercial arrangements - including in relation to family office family investment companies, trusteeships over business interests and succession.
For example, on the corporate side in addition to the support we provide in relation to transactions and funding, we advise high net worth individuals on a range of issues relating to their business interests from structuring or realising their investments through to succession issues in relation to owner managed businesses.
We also advise on the setting up and ongoing governance of family investment companies and angel investors on their investments in trading companies and in relation to the use of partnerships and LLPs. We also have a corporate trustee which acts as a trustee in many of our clients’ trust arrangements.
On the commercial side we advise on contracts and arrangements relating to any commercial activities carried out by our clients or activities relating to their properties, business, or assets.
Our property and agricultural team provide a full service to agricultural, rural and estate clients including advising on property, planning, development, litigation, and agricultural entitlements.
We have been trusted advisors to a number of family and charitable estates for several decades. We handle their property transactions, registration of estates with the Land Registry and increasingly commercial and strategic work as estates seek new ways to diversify beyond existing farming enterprises.
Key facts about our team and the benefits we offer rinclude:
Our clients
Trustees (from individuals through to corporate trustees and charity boards), entrepreneurs, landowners, investors, accountants, independent financial advisors, and other professionals, both onshore and offshore including Wyggeston Hospital Estate, Belvoir Estate, Natural England, National Trust and the Environment Agency.
Our expertise
A team of specialist lawyers working nationally, including lawyers as members of the Country Landowners Association and Agricultural Law Association. We regularly attend their meetings and get involved in discussions on issues relevant to our clients.
Strategic development advice
On strategic land matters such as option promotion agreements, development agreements, planning permission, joint ventures and terminating agricultural tenancies.
Specialist agricultural advice
On maximising eligibility for business property and agricultural property reliefs for inheritance tax purposes, reviews of agricultural estates to optimise tax efficient negotiating transfer of reliefs and retentions in land transactions and regulatory advice.
Estate management
We advise on agricultural and estate management matters, including farm business tenancies, grazing licences, subsidy schemes, minerals and commercial leases.
We attend trustee and management meetings and offer rfocused advice relevant to individual requirements if required. In addition, we work collaboratively with other professionals such as accountants, agents and consultants.
We are members of the Country Landowners Association and Agricultural Law Association, through which we regularly attend meetings and get involved in discussions on issues relevant to our clients.
Our criminal, compliance and regulatory team is well used to reacting to fatal and serious accidents which often raise issues covering police involvement, privileged internal investigations, disclosure to the HSE, access rights to documents and equipment, questioning of employees and contractors and the appeals against improvement and/or prohibition notices.
The team both prosecutes and defends, regularly supporting business and individuals in a wide range of sectors, including those within the agricultural sector.
This includes:
- Defending companies/partnerships and individuals facing gross negligence/ manslaughter investigations/ health and safety investigations involving commercial and farm related accidents. These could result in investigations by all types of linked government bodies including HSE, Environment Agency, BIS, DEFRA and HMRC.
- Alleged breaches of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.
- Acting for farmers and members of the shooting fraternity in firearms s related offences successful appeals to the crown court for firearms revocation cases.
- Advising on health and safety aspects applicable to commercial shoots.
- Local authority trading standards investigations involving milk contamination; animal tagging/ passport breaches; animal cruelty cases involving the importation/ sale/transportation of livestock; alleged breaches of the Food Hygiene Regs 2006; Egg and Chick Regs 2009.
Frequently asked questions
Our private client lawyers specialise in providing tailored legal services for wealthy individuals, families, and private entities, covering areas such as personal wealth management, estate planning, and succession.
Private law encompasses legal matters that pertain to the interactions and relationships between individuals within a legal framework. This branch of law is concerned with regulating relationships between private parties and does not involve government entities.
Key contacts
Lucy Worwood
Partner
Wenna Thompson
Partner
Imogen Holmes
Partner
Iain Blatherwick
Partner
Robin Lecoutre
Legal Director
Koren Holbourn
Senior Associate
Bindu Kotecha
Trust Accounts & Tax Manager
Rosie Dickens
Legal Assistant
Latest insights and events
Press Release
Browne Jacobson appoints Scott McKittrick as Partner in growing Private Client team
Legal Update
Contentious private client roundup – 2023
Legal Update
Mutual wills – case update 2023
Press Release
Browne Jacobson grows inheritance and trust dispute practice with partner hire
Press Release - Firm news
Browne Jacobson's private client team top Chambers High Net Worth Guide rankings again
Browne Jacobson’s private client practice has been ranked as Band One in the 2022 Chambers and Partners High Net Worth Guide for its work in private wealth law.
Opinion - Future Lawyer blog
A day in the life of a private client and charities trainee
Gavin Lock gives a view into working for Browne Jacobson's private clients and charities team.
Opinion
A brief update on probate
A new online system for probate applications was introduced in early October 2019, which will allow us to process and track applications for grants of probate online.