Debbie Harrison

Debbie specialises in providing strategic legal advice to farming families, landowners and rural businesses, spanning succession planning, Inheritance Tax mitigation, estate planning, family farming partnerships, trusts, wills, and probate matters. She works closely with clients to safeguard agricultural assets and ensure the successful transition of farming enterprises between generations, whilst protecting family relationships and achieving long-term commercial objectives.

Debbie regularly collaborates with accountants, land agents and financial advisers to deliver comprehensive wealth preservation and succession planning solutions tailored to the unique needs of the agricultural sector. She specialises in advising landed estates, farming families and rural business owners on succession planning, estate planning, trusts, taxation and wealth preservation. Debbie provides strategic advice on the ownership, management and transfer of agricultural and estate assets, helping clients safeguard family wealth and ensure the successful transition of businesses and landholdings across generations.

Examples of Debbie’s work include:

• Advising a multi-generational poultry and arable farming family on succession and Inheritance Tax planning in collaboration with Grant Thornton and the Land Agent, involving the restructuring of farming and property interests, the preparation of new wills, new partnership agreement and implementation of trust arrangements.
• Acting for the owners of a landed estate, working closely with the estate’s accountants and land agents to implement a succession and Inheritance Tax planning strategy ahead of the 6 April 2026 Inheritance Tax reforms. The advice focused on maximising the availability of Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief, making effective use of available allowances, and mitigating future Inheritance Tax liabilities.
• Advising farming families on the establishment and restructuring of family farming partnerships, ensuring partnership arrangements reflected the commercial reality of the business, family involvement and long-term succession intentions, while complementing wider tax and estate planning strategies.