Wilberforce is a go-to chambers for complex, high value trusts work. The best in the business with fantastic barristers at all levels from junior to very senior KC.
Trusts, probate and estates: contentious
We have long been regarded as a leading chambers in the fields of trusts, wills and probate disputes, with our reputation for excellence reinforced by constant recommendations in legal directories.
Our barristers not only have outstanding intellectual ability but also commercial acumen and sensitivity to the needs of clients, with a commitment to providing an excellent quality of service.
Areas of expertise include:
Our barristers have a wealth of shared knowledge and experience. We are trusted and valued for our skills and know-how in the private client field. Our annual Wilberforce Trust Litigation Conference is a firm fixture for leading private client practitioners, providing a forum in which we can examine and discuss recent trends and developments with our clients.
We are regularly instructed by accountants, banks and financial institutions, as well as solicitors, attorneys and advocates. We are experienced in handling international work in offshore jurisdictions including Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Gibraltar, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Rankings and recognition
Wilberforce is ranked as a tier 1 set in Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500 for Traditional Chancery and Private Client (Trusts & Probate) work.
Chambers & Partners 2023: Wilberforce Chambers has an impressive group of barristers who handlex complex disputes surrounding trusts and estates, often relying upon multi-jurisdictional knowledge of the law. “The set is at the top of its game,” comments a source, who continues: “It has a huge breadth of expertise and its barristers are a lively, entertaining bunch. The set is well run, responsive and a pleasure to work with.” “The responsiveness from both counsel and the clerks room is excellent. All barristers who I have instructed have been very user-friendly and accessible. Likewise the service from the clerks room is the best I have experienced; they are always on hand to field enquiries and to assist wherever they can,” reports an interviewee.
The Legal 500 2023: Wilberforce Chambers is ‘an eminent name when it comes to handling trusts and probate disputes’ and has ‘impressive strength in depth, from silks down to the most junior advocates’. Gilead Cooper KC is well known for his ‘fine intellect and persuasive manner’ and specialises in contentious property and trusts, Chancery and commercial litigation. Brian Green KC is ‘equally brilliant in contentious and non-contentious cases’ and is currently in Re HK Family Trust case, acting on behalf of a major bank in £450m proceedings concerning alleged breach of trust and consequential issues. Rising star Joseph Steadman is an ‘unbelievably bright junior’ whose trusts and probate practice encompasses various contexts, including commercial fraud, asset-tracing, divorce, and relationship breakdown.
The Legal 500 Bar Awards 2022: Wilberforce wins Chancery Set of the Year
Chambers Bar Awards 2022: Clare Stanley KC wins Chancery Silk of the Year
Chambers Bar Awards 2021: Thomas Grant KC wins Chancery Silk of the Year
Chambers High Net Worth Awards 2020: Wilberforce wins of Set of the Year
The Legal 500 Bar Awards 2020: Wilberforce wins Private Client Set of the Year
Chambers Bar Awards 2018: Wilberforce wins Chancery Set of the Year
Wilberforce Chambers publishes a regular Private Client eBriefing update – if you would like to be added to the mailing list, please email marketing@wilberforce.co.uk.
A key Privy Council decision of significance throughout the common law world, concerning the interplay between trusts and insolvency law. It has particular importance in circumstances where the trust fund is ‘insolvent’, in the sense that the trust assets are insufficient to meet the amounts due under the trustee’s right of indemnity.
Concerns the circumstances in which the Court might refuse to bless a decision of pension scheme trustees, with particular reference to the meaning of “necessaries of life”, the conflicted position of member-trustees, and the relevance of disputed matters of fact.
An important decision concerning the construction of settlements created prior to the Human Rights Act 1998, the Civil Partnership Act 2004 and the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.
A high-value trusts dispute arising from the insolvency of the Freedom Bay property development scheme in St Lucia. The case raises important legal questions about trustees’ ability to rely on investors’ contributory negligence as a defence.
In the wake of the multi-million pound restoration of Hawksmoor’s masterpiece, there was a long-running legal dispute over the consecrated churchyard which forms the setting to the Church, a World Heritage Site.
Heard in the Court of Appeal, this case concerns a registered charity, which sought approval of making a grant of $360m to a new charity established by one of its trustees. It marks the first time that the question of duties owed by members of a charitable company has been considered by the courts, and has significant implications for members of charitable companies.
Widely regarded as one of the most important in the pensions industry. It relates to the exercise discretionary powers and the proper purposes for which those powers can be exercised by trustees.
A successful appeal to the Supreme Court on the application of section 127 Insolvency Act 1986 and the Recognition of Trusts Act 1987 to a disposition of legal title to Saudi shares held under a Cayman Islands trust.
A long-running claim for breach of trust, which principally concerns the relationship between an English Will trust of a Swiss resident and a Liechtenstein Establishment and issues regarding remuneration of the trustees.
The seminal Supreme Court decision on what had become known as the rule in Re Hastings-Bass and on the ability to set aside voluntary dispositions on the ground of mistake.
Linked appeals concerning an enduring power of attorney, inter vivos gifts of chattels and the rule in Strong v Bird.
The Supreme Court decision on the construction and rectification of wills.
Whether the will of Lucian Freud created a fully secret trust.
Whether the royalties from the Mary Poppins stage musical were income or capital receipts for trust law purposes, and their correct tax treatment.
A Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal case on whether unrealised profits of a trader in investments were liable to profits tax.
Representing companies in a judicial review which established the obligations of Revenue Authorities seeking to enforce Tax Information Exchange provisions under the OECD model or double taxation treaties.
Articles
To read or download this article as a PDF, please click here. Commentary by Joseph Steadman. Technically, a trust cannot be insolvent: trusts are not legal persons. However, the term “insolvent trust” is a useful shorthand for the situation which arises... Read more
By Joseph Steadman
Thursday 23 February 2023
Articles
To read and download this piece as a pdf, please click here. Commentary by Jamie Holmes. 1. Introduction and summary Trusts and estates disputes often involve an international element. This paper[1] will focus on two ways in which such questions commonly arise: a... Read more
By Jamie Holmes
Monday 30 January 2023
News
We are delighted to announce that John McGhee KC has been listed in The Lawyer Hot 100 2023! The Lawyer’s write-up on John reads as follows: “Wilberforce Chambers’ John McGhee KC was so busy last year he didn’t have much... Read more
Monday 23 January 2023
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Articles
To read and download this piece as a pdf, please click here. Commentary by Michael Ashdown. Introduction It is commonplace now for the trustee of almost any sort of trust to be a company, and for the individuals who may... Read more
By Michael Ashdown
Tuesday 20 December 2022
Barristers: KCs
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