Laura is a Partner and Head of the Private Client department. She advises clients on matters including estate administration, Wills, Powers of Attorney, trusts, and estate planning.
Laura is a Legal 500 recognised lawyer, and a full member of both the Society of Trusts and Estate Practioners (STEP) and The Association of Lifetime Lawyers (formerly Solicitors for the Elderly). Membership of these organisations is a recognised mark of achievement in technical ability and client service. She has been a member of the STEP Surrey committee since 2014 and became Chair of the committee in 2019. She has also served on the STEP England and Wales Committee.
Recent matters Laura has dealt with include:
- Advising beneficiaries of an estate where the deceased’s Will structure triggered an immediate inheritance tax charge, with respect to a Deed of Variation restructuring their inheritance in order to defer the tax liability, meaning that they were able to avoid having to sell assets of the deceased in order to pay the tax due;
- Acting for an attorney based in Germany and acting under a German Power of Attorney in relation to the Court of Protection application to validate the Power of Attorney for use with respect to UK assets worth £1.4 million;
- Advising a married couple wishing to structure their Wills in order to provide for a beneficiary with addiction and mental health issues;
- Advising the executors of the estates of a couple who died within weeks of one another with respect to the probate process and their inheritance tax reporting responsibilities;
- Acting for the executor of a substantial estate where the deceased left no living relatives and divided her assets between 25 charitable beneficiaries.
