Joanne is an Associate in the Tax & Trusts and Wills & Estates teams.

Her clients include individuals and family members including executors and court-appointed deputies.

Supporting on probate and the administration of estates, she ensures that her clients’ affairs are settled efficiently and inheritance tax is minimised. In addition, she drafts wills and lasting powers of attorney as part of estate and inheritance planning, particularly for entrepreneurs and high-net-worth clients with complex affairs.

She acts for families and representatives of vulnerable people, such as those with reduced mental capacity, in any dealings with the Court of Protection.

Recent examples of how Joanne has supported clients include:

  • supporting executors in the administration of a complex high value estate, in circumstances where a couple died in a single accident, where urgent advice was needed to ensure that inheritance tax was not incurred;
  • helping an entrepreneur with succession planning, by providing estate planning advice in relation to a will to mitigate inheritance tax and to ensure business assets pass to intended beneficiaries;
  • providing ongoing advice and support to a court-appointed deputy who was dealing with the assets and welfare of a vulnerable relative;
  • successfully engaging with HMRC on behalf of an executor to reduce the amount of inheritance tax payable on a high value estate where there were issues in relation to a reservation of benefit; and
  • assisting and supporting executors in an estate with family tensions to ensure the successful and efficient administration of the estate.