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Claire Pottinger

Partner


Why choose me

I am a people person – Private Client law is very much about helping others at what can be a really difficult time in their lives, or helping them to plan for the future through protecting the ones they care about the most.

I take the time to understand my clients and explain the planning involved so that they feel heard and receive a service they understand and where the result is right for them – even if the situation is difficult.

I work with people from all walks of life, notably those with high-value or business assets or complex family structures. These include bereaved individuals, parents with vulnerable children, and those wanting to protect their assets for future generations.

I advise business owner-managers wanting to protect their businesses moving forward, those who have received compensation following an injury but who want to protect further means-tested benefits and companies setting up trusts for the families of deceased employees.

My specialisms include wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, drafting, administering and ending trusts and the administration of deceased estates. I also advise on inheritance tax planning and act as a professional executor, trustee or attorney as required.

Outside work, my passions are my family and friends; particularly helping my children to reach their full potential in all aspects of their lives – and cooking – my kitchen is my happy place!

I am a people person – Private Client law is very much about helping others at what can be a really difficult time in their lives, or helping them to plan for the future through protecting the ones they care about the most.

I take the time to understand my clients and explain the planning involved so that they feel heard and receive a service they understand and where the result is right for them – even if the situation is difficult.

I work with people from all walks of life, notably those with high-value or business assets or complex family structures. These include bereaved individuals, parents with vulnerable children, and those wanting to protect their assets for future generations.

I advise business owner-managers wanting to protect their businesses moving forward, those who have received compensation following an injury but who want to protect further means-tested benefits and companies setting up trusts for the families of deceased employees.

My specialisms include wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, drafting, administering and ending trusts and the administration of deceased estates. I also advise on inheritance tax planning and act as a professional executor, trustee or attorney as required.

Outside work, my passions are my family and friends; particularly helping my children to reach their full potential in all aspects of their lives – and cooking – my kitchen is my happy place!

Questions my clients ask me

This varies from client to client, but usually involves the will including at least one trust – whether that is a proportion of the estate being left into a discretionary trust for the benefit of the spouse and children on the first death, or the spouse receiving a right to income under the will and the underlying capital being protected for the children on their subsequent death – or a combination of these.

A beneficiary can also be a trustee, and often is, but it is important to consider whether they should be. For example, you do not want a 20-year old to be a trustee of a trust from which he is not entitled to benefit until he is 25. You need to ask yourself: do you trust the individual to put aside their self-interest and act in the best interests of all the beneficiaries? Does the beneficiary have the mental ability to act as a trustee?

This will depend on the value of the estate at the date of death, the type of assets held – and possibly for how long they have been owned – the amount and type of gifting made by the client and to whom the estate is being left. However, with the right estate planning and will in place, a married couple with children may be able to leave £1m plus any business or agricultural assets qualifying for relief, free from inheritance tax on the death of the survivor of them. The balance would be subject to inheritance tax.

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