England - South East • Private client

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Personal tax, trusts and probate: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40

Freeths LLP

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Freeths LLP‘s private client service division specialises across all aspects of trusts, estates and tax, Court of Protection, private litigation and residential conveyancing. Oxford-based Sarah Foster  heads up the team. Nigel Roots is well known for managing complex inter-generational wealth structures and trust reorganisations, while Louise Lewis undertakes estate planning for high-net-worth individuals as well as on administration post-death. Lisa Mark-Bell is another important port of call, receiving client praise for being ’practical, pragmatic and dedicated to finding solutions for her clients’, and specialising in providing bespoke trust advice to HNW trusts, including landed estates.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘I feel that Louise Lewis and her team are immensely supportive and caring about the position that their clients are in and incredibly kind. She is an exceptional person and that radiates through her team. All very smart and diligent practitioners who make sure that the work is explained and gets done with sympathy and speed.’

  • ‘I know that I am supported and cared about whilst making rather difficult decisions with my family.’

  • ‘Louise Lewis clearly has a strong academic interest in the law she practises and I am aware that she has spoken at and led conferences. She will say if she wants to consult a colleague on a particular question and will tell me if she has new advice to offer as a result. Perhaps above all she brings to what are often difficult topics great human sympathy and understanding of family life.'

  • 'Dedicated, committed team. Creative and thoughtful, highly responsive, clear and transparent billing, very solutions oriented, great personal touch, and passionate about supporting their clients.’

  • ‘Louise Lewis, an outstanding, highly articulate and dedicated lawyer who is passionate about supporting her clients and providing solutions and value, is a thoughtful and a collaborative problem solver, generous with her time, and very approachable in her working style. Louise is a complete pleasure to work with and a stand-out lawyer working in a very strong partnership.’

  • ‘Lisa Mark-Bell was very professional and knowledgeable in advising me on my will, which had several international aspects. She was also very personable and listened to my questions and responded to them in a way I could, as a lay person, understand. The will was done and dusted within a week and I would highly recommend her.’

  • ‘The Oxford office has a good team of experts able to help potential private and rural clients with all their personal and property needs whether that be a well drafted will, some specialist trust advice or a property transactions ranging from the simple house sale to a more complex transaction involving development or commercial land. They are fast and efficient.’

  • ‘Lisa Mark Bell is very approachable and easy to work with. Practical, pragmatic and dedicated to finding solutions for her clients. She is friendly and efficient.’

Lawyers

Leading individuals

Nigel Roots

Nigel Roots

Freeths LLP

Nigel has been a specialist trust and estate practitioner for over 30 years. He has experience of estate administrations of all sizes and complexities, both domestic and international. This covers tax and trust planning, trust management and modification both onshore and offshore, complex estate administrations, literary estates, heritage property, charity issues and court of protection issues. These include disputed, high value and multi asset estates. He acts as a Court appointed independent administrator and Judicial Trustee in disputed trust and probate matters. He also lectures widely on tax and trust matters Nigel is listed as a Recommended Lawyer and recognised as a Leading Individual in Charities & Not-for-profit as well as for personal tax, trusts and probate by the Legal 500 (2023 edition). The Chambers & Partners (2023 edition) listed Nigel as a Leading Individual and he’s recognised in the Chambers High Net Worth Ranking (2023 edition).

Next Generation Partners

Louise Lewis

Louise Lewis

Freeths LLP

Louise is a Partner and joint head of the Oxford Trusts, Estates and Tax Team. She is a highly regarded private client lawyer who advises on a variety of matters. Louise qualified in 2005 and joined our firm from Penningtons Manches Cooper in June 2019. Louise drafts Wills, sets up and administers trusts, administers estates and drafts and registers powers of attorney. She has expertise in the field of mental capacity and advises on disabled persons’ trusts, deputyships for children reaching adulthood and other welfare-related issues. She prepares lasting powers of attorney and Wills for clients with mental capacity issues and complex applications to the Court of Protection and High Court for mentally incapacitated people. These include applications for statutory Wills, for gifts and trusts, for removal of incapacitated trustees and for welfare decisions. Louise is the Deputy Chair of the steering committee for STEP’s mental capacity special interest group and she Chaired a session on mental capacity and welfare issues at STEP’s global congress in London in summer 2022. She regularly speaks on mental capacity topics and has presented for the Brain Injury Association and the Alzheimer’s Society among others. Louise is a Dementia Friend. In 2020, she completed an advanced STEP certificate in advising vulnerable clients, receiving a distinction. In addition, Louise is a member of the firm’s private wealth initiative and is able to provide advice to business clients on estate planning at all stages of the business cycle.  This includes tax advice and trusts for people exiting their businesses, advice on Wills and the interaction of Wills with corporate structures, advice on suitable structures for start-up owners and new partnerships and advice on trusts to hold company shares. Louise also administers business interests following death of business owners and advises on available tax reliefs for estates. Louise has considerable experience of working with international clients and advises on residence and domicile and cross border estate planning. In June 2023, Louise completed an advanced STEP certificate in UK tax for international clients, receiving a distinction.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Sarah Foster

Other key lawyers

Nigel Roots, Louise Lewis, Lisa Mark-Bell

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