Victoria is a Partner in our Disputed Wills, Charity and Dispute Resolution Teams. She is an experienced litigator who has specialised in will, trust and probate disputes and contested Court of Protection applications for nearly 18 years.

Victoria also provides a niche legacy service for charities, which advises them about protecting legacy income. She, also, specialises in cases involving vulnerable adults, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Court of Protection cases.

She, also, co-wrote Remember a Charity’s ‘Guide to Professional Advisors’ for drafting wills which include charitable legacies.

Her clients include:

• Attorneys
• Beneficiaries
• Care homes
• Charities
• Deputies
• Executors
• Families
• Private clients
• Trustees

Recent examples of work or case studies:

• Representing two beneficiaries who stood to lose substantial legacies through a claim made against their parent’s estate. Settling the matter prior to the issue of proceedings, with no payment being made to the claimant and the beneficiaries’ legacies were unaffected by the claim.
• Protecting a substantial legacy for a national charity by successfully defending a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Defendants Act 1975) and also managing any potential reputational risks to the charity.
• Obtaining a court order to remove a problematic executor from an estate who had failed to progress the estate administration for several years. Also appointing a replacement executor and recovering the client’s legal costs from the removed executor.
• Representing a spouse in a claim against their late partner’s estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Defendants Act 1975). Obtaining the majority of the estate for the client and recovering their costs.
• Advising a trustee in a complex trust administration case, seeking the court’s guidance and recovering the trustee’s costs