Clarity in conflict. Resolution with care.

Our Trusts and Estates Disputes team at Edwin Coe has deep expertise in the full range of conflicts that arise from private wealth succession and inheritance. We act for high net worth (HNW) and ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals, families, trustees and fiduciaries in connection with wills, probate, estates and all forms of onshore and offshore trusts, including complex multi-jurisdictional structures.

We advise families, private wealth professionals, trustees and fiduciaries on contentious issues affecting personal representatives, beneficiaries, settlors and protectors. Our experience spans a broad range of both domestic and international and onshore and offshore trust and probate matters. We work closely with our market-leading Private Client and Tax teams, always seeking early resolution with absolute discretion. Where resolution is not possible, we have extensive experience of taking disputes to the highest courts. Difficulties frequently arise from mismatched expectations and from increasingly complex wealth planning structures, often involving assets and parties in multiple jurisdictions.

Our specialist team has been involved at the highest level in some of the most significant international private wealth disputes in recent years, supporting our Private Client and Tax teams with innovative restructuring concepts that have achieved beneficial outcomes for all involved (case references are not provided for client confidentiality reasons). We also have considerable experience across the full range of domestic disputes, whether or not there is an international dimension. Trusted and recommended by clients and professionals alike, we are committed to delivering pragmatic, creative and effective solutions, often in highly sensitive circumstances.

We are ranked as a ‘Firm to Watch’ in the Legal 500 for Contentious Trusts and Probate. Our Head of Department, Shams Rahman is also ranked in Chambers and Partners and SPEARS 500 for Private Wealth Disputes, and he is also a full member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP). Our team includes members of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS).

We are rated as a `Firm to Watch’ in the Legal 500 2024 for Contentious Trusts and Probate.

What we do best:

Advising trustees and other fiduciaries on the exercise of their duties, particularly in the contentious context;
Inheritance disputes, including claims for financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 ("the 1975 Act");
Challenges to the validity of Wills;
Applications for the removal and/or replacement of trustees and protectors, including pursuant to s.41 Trustee Act 1925, s.19 Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA) and the court's inherent jurisdiction;
Claims against trustees and other fiduciaries for breach of trust and/or breach of fiduciary duty;
Court of Protection work, including contested applications to the Court of Protection;
Professional negligence claims relating to trusts and other wealth-holding structures;
Applications to the court to vary a trust (including under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958);
Pursuing fraudulent and dishonest trustees and associated third parties;
Acting in cases involving Sharia law and other Middle Eastern influences;
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), including mediation, arbitration, round-table negotiations, expert determination and early neutral evaluation;
Bringing claims under Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 in connection with competing claims over ownership of land.