I am a Senior Associate in the Agricultural team. I joined Michelmores in June 2016, having trained and worked for a regional heavyweight firm in Kent.

My expertise is in contentious will, trust and estate disputes. I have particular experience in claims under the Inheritance Act, contesting the validity of wills, advising executors and trustees as to their duties, and assisting with disputes between executors/trustees and beneficiaries. I am also experienced in dealing with land based disputes, particularly those concerning Agricultural Holdings (both under the 1986 and 1995 Act) and proprietary estoppel claims.

Recent experience

Acting on behalf of a farmer defending a claim under the Inheritance Act brought by his step mother against his father’s £5 million farm after his death.

Successfully securing the removal of a troublesome executor who had stolen valuable assets from an estate

Successfully challenging a will on the grounds of lack of testamentary capacity where the deceased had made his will around the time when he had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983

Bringing a challenge to a will where the deceased had not understood the effects of the will she was making and instructions were being given by another family member on her behalf

Advising a trustee as to her duties under a trust, and helping her to rectify unintentional breaches that she had committed

Advising the administrator of an estate faced by several claims by creditors as to how to proceed with the administration of the estate (and making an application to the court for directions under CPR Part 64)

Bringing a proprietary estoppel claim on behalf of farmer who invested his life’s work into the family business, but after having been promised various assets was left very little under his father’s will.