Tax, Trusts and Probate
Wealth preservation is an art and science. History shows it is becoming more difficult and more demanding of action. The types of threat to private wealth, the catalogue of risk, encountered today have changed very little. What is new is the speed and intensity of those threats and risks. There are variations of course – from one family, economic cycle or geopolitical area to another. One constant exists: the risks are real and nobody enjoys immunity.
Why we are different
Mishcon has shaped its service to suit this changing landscape. Whether it is creating an ownership structure, establishing a trust, making a will or planning for succession, the skill sets and technical abilities have to be up to the minute. When threats materialise and disputes occur, the contentious team has an enviable reputation for resolving them in the client's best interests.
Apart from the analysis and evaluation, the devising and calculating, at Mishcon we recognise that doing the science may not be enough. Clients also value intuition and innovation, creativity and empathy – this combination of skill sets Mishcon apart. There is an art to creating outcomes for clients that are specific to their needs.
Services
Tax
- Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax planning
- Post-death tax planning
- Tax-efficient asset structuring
- Tax efficient investment
- Tax disputes
Trusts
- Trust creation (UK and offshore)
- Trust administration
- Trust taxation
- Asset tracing and recovery
- Charitable trusts and philanthropy
- Trust disputes and breach of trust
- Foundations
Wills
- Succession planning
- Tax-efficient wills
- Validity of wills
- Will disputes
Probate
- Estate administration
- International estates
- Post-death variations
- Probate disputes
- 1975 Inheritance Act claims
Mental capacity
- Powers of attorney
- Living wills
- Proving or challenging mental capacity
- Court of Protection applications
Our Experience
Tax
- Advising non-domiciled individuals on how to structure their UK property and business investments tax-efficiently.
- Creating a Family Investment Company (FIC) to enable a client to pass valuable assets to his children and grandchildren as part of a major inheritance tax planning exercise but without losing effective control. The FIC is one alternative to a trust but without the initial 20% tax charge.
- Restructuring the assets of a Russian oligarch following his move to the UK and the changes to the tax rules for non-doms in April 2008. Advising on how to protect his valuable UK home and exceptional art collection from UK tax while allowing him to enjoy them.
- Advising on whether the bankers’ bonus tax applies to hedge fund clients.
Trusts
- Advising on a multi-jurisdictional trust dispute over the beneficial ownership of valuable assets in six settlements which were the subject of competing claims. HMRC claimed to be a creditor of our client’s late husband and asserted that he was the beneficial owner of the assets which should be used to satisfy post-death tax assessments of over £20 million. Our client also had claims against the estate and the trustees.
- Reorganising the family Trusts of a well known landed estate to save millions of pounds in inheritance tax on the death of the head of the family.
- Estate planning and philanthropy advice for a hedge fund manager following the sale of his business, including setting up his charitable foundation.
- Advising on the creation of a Cayman Islands purpose trust and a Panama foundation for asset-protection and confidentiality reasons.
- A highly innovative court application to vary the terms of a valuable UK trust to ensure that some of the children were not inadvertently disinherited by their late grandfather.
Wills
- Acting for Dr Christine Gill against the RSPCA in her successful challenge to the validity of her late mother's will. Dr Gill also succeeded in her alternative claim to the farm under the doctrine of proprietary estoppel.
- Representing Dr Alison Martin in her successful claim against TWM solicitors that her late husband’s will had not been prepared in accordance with his instructions. Dr Martin also succeeded in her claim that the solicitors had given her negligent tax advice in relation to the administration of the estate.
Probate
- When one of our business clients died suddenly, we helped the family obtain an emergency Grant of Probate without having to pay the inheritance tax liability at that time. This exceptional concession allowed the client's business to continue largely unaffected by his death, thus preserving its value for the benefit of his family and employees.
- We acted for the Australian widow of a US citizen who died leaving no will covering his US assets. With the assistance of New York counsel, we advised how his valuable estate should be reorganised to make the most efficient use of both UK and US tax exemptions.
Mental capacity
- Advising a well-known public figure on his objections to the registration of his enduring power of attorney on the grounds that he had lost mental capacity
- Following the multi million pound settlement of a clinical negligence claim, acting for the claimant’s mother in an application for the appointment for a Professional Deputy of the Court of Protection.
- Acting for a Deputy in relation to a contested application brought by the local authority to have him removed.
The Firm's Contentious Trusts & Estates Team has been shortlisted for Team of the Year (2009) for the prestigious STEP Private Client Awards 2009/10.