Donna Withers
Donna has been advising private clients for many years in relation to estate planning and post death matters. She leads an experienced department providing Jersey wills, probate, executor and vulnerable client services with both a Jersey and international focus.
For Jersey clients, Donna advises on wills and estate planning, guiding families through issues of forced heirship ("legitime"), family sensitivities and the impact of particular asset classes or structures on estate plans. She is passionate about protecting the wealth and welfare of elderly or otherwise vulnerable clients, having been appointed by the Royal Court as Curator/Delegate (formerly Curator) for incapacitated clients and advising on the preparation and use of lasting powers of attorney. She also advises executors and beneficiaries following death as to their responsibilities and entitlements and assists with requirements for probate and registration of immovable wills.
For international clients, Donna collaborates with other professional advisers as to the intricacies of private international law on wills, domicile, succession, capacity, lasting power of attorney, probate and inheritance issues. Her team provides Jersey wills, probate and registration of foreign powers of attorney for hundreds of non-Jersey domiciliaries per year, providing a streamlined and efficient service.
Recognised for her expertise, Donna has been invited to speak on ITV Channel News, BBC Radio Jersey, the STEP Special Interest Group Conference in London and the Jersey branch. She also co-authored the Jersey chapter in the Oxford University Press textbook "The International Protection of Adults" and is a co-opted member of the Jersey Law Society Sub-Committee on Capacity and Succession.
Before joining Bedell Cristin, she practised in the top tier private client department of Hill Dickinson LLP in England following which she advised in-house in a Jersey wealth structuring company.
