Will advises UK and international individuals and families, trustees, family offices and financial institutions on all aspects of tax, trust, estate and succession planning and family governance.
He specialises in UK and cross-border estate planning, international succession, asset protection/wealth preservation and related use of asset-holding structures, together with all related lifetime tax issues. Will also drafts wills and trusts, whether for purely domestic or international families, and advises on tax-efficient philanthropy.
Will advises UK resident clients (both those UK domiciled and non-UK domiciled) together with internationally based families with more limited connections to the UK.
Prior to joining Womble Bond Dickinson, Will worked at one of the largest international single family offices in the world, advising members of the family on their wealth management, legal matters, tax and estate planning. Previously he was Senior Counsel in the private client team at Macfarlanes LLP, having trained there.
Will is a member of the Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
Experience
Examples of experience include:
- Advising a UK resident, non-UK domiciled US citizen on the creation of both grantor and non-grantor trusts for her estate planning and lifetime tax planning, their lifetime US and UK tax treatment and related drafting issues
- Advising individuals and trustees on the changes to the tax regime for non-UK domiciliaries, in particular the significant changes made in 2008 and 2017, their implications for existing structures and formation of new asset-holding structures
- Advising families on softer governance and values statements/family constitutions/family charters to sit alongside their estate planning structures and increase the prospects of successfully preserving wealth across generations
- Co-ordinating private-client and litigation advice across multiple jurisdictions in relation to the disputed intestate succession to an international estate of many $bns. Advising on the formation of bespoke private trust companies and tax-efficient trust structures for the heirs, delivering both sector and regime/political risk-segregation and diversification, as part of agreeing the succession issues
- Advising on the formation of a UK based private trust company to act as trustee of family trusts which own a substantial London-based prime residential and retail property portfolio
- Drafting a the will for a high profile international client with an asset base spanning over 30 jurisdictions
- Advising an international family on the application of business and agricultural inheritance tax reliefs to parts of their estates, and related strategic decisions
- Advising multiple clients with international asset-bases on their estate planning. Drafting their wills to ensure formal and substantive validity taking into account all cross-border issues, in particular the European Succession Regulation
"A great sounding board to go to on international private client issues with a great range of experience to call on. He is highly responsive and great on calls with clients to explain the advice he has provided in a clear and concise way. He is compelling when he speaks about his work and has a great rapport with clients."
Chambers High Net Worth 2022
