Ed is a Partner in the Tax & Trusts and Wills & Estates teams.
Working with individuals, he provides guidance on estate planning including drafting a will, setting up lasting powers of attorney for financial affairs or health and welfare, planning a legacy and advice on mitigating inheritance tax liabilities.
He specialises in the creation of discretionary trusts and the management of trusts for high-net-worth families, often with landed estates. This is usually where an outright inheritance might lead to issues if there is disagreement between the beneficiaries, and he frequently acts as a neutral trustee. Working with colleagues in the litigation team enables him to identify where a trustee has missed opportunities or failed to fulfil their duties.
In addition, he manages probate and administers estates after someone has died. This can include varying a will and liaising with HMRC in regard to exemptions and allowances for capital gains tax, business or agricultural reliefs.
Recent examples of how Ed has supported clients include:
- drawing on former experience in the property sector to provide holistic legal advice as a trustee to a trust with extensive property holdings;
- setting up and managing a discretionary trust for a farming family, which foresaw potential friction among the next generation over the future of the farm;
- succession planning for an entrepreneur, involving the transfer of personal assets to take maximum advantage of available capital gains tax reliefs; and
- facilitating a significant tax reclaim by identifying deficiencies in the work of a trust provider.