The Wealth Lawyer
Cryptocurrency estate planning: lessons from QuadrigaCX
12 April 2019In a plot line worthy of a Dan Brown novel, the 30 year old CEO and founder of QuadrigaCX, Gerald Cotton, was reported as having died in India at the end of last year, seemingly having taken the passwords to the company’s cold storage wallets with him to his grave.
Read moreIs this the end of Opco/Propco structures in the hotel industry?
21 February 2019Opco/Propco structures have long been popular in the hotel sector. IHG, Accor and Hilton are just a few of the big names who have split Propcos from Opcos. Many smaller groups have also found it to be an attractive model. There are, of course, commercial reasons why many hotel owners have put these structures in […]
Read moreBrexit – “No deal”, no bread, no drugs, no treat-ies
5 February 2019Much of the law regulating family arrangements, Children Orders, Financial Orders, and indeed Divorces themselves are contained within EU law. If that ceases to apply it is important to consider, that urgent steps may need to be taken, or at least considered prior to the exit day.
Read moreTime to send the family wealth on a foreign holiday?
22 January 2019Taking your family wealth on a foreign holiday always sounds more glamorous than staying at home and doing a bit of housekeeping. Private Wealth partner, Helena Luckhurst encourages you to think about your assets.
Read moreTier 1 (Investor) visa suspended for ‘new’ applicants from midnight tonight
6 December 2018Immigration partners Sarah Gogan and Kelly Whiter discuss today’s announcement on the suspension of the Tier 1 Investor programme.
Read moreAppeal against UK’s first Unexplained Wealth Order rejected
8 October 2018An attempt to appeal the UK’s first Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) has recently failed in the High Court. In February 2018, the UK’s National Crime Agency sought an UWO against Mrs A (whose anonymity may only be temporary), seeking information about the purchase of a valuable London property. UWOs require an individual to provide a […]
Read moreGifting millions under Lasting Power of Attorney: the JMA case
4 October 2018One of the less talked about implications of losing capacity in old age is that Inheritance Tax (IHT) planning often becomes impossible without court intervention. Incapable wealthy family members cannot make gifts because they lack the capacity to authorise them. Even if they have had the foresight to sign a Property & Financial Affairs Lasting […]
Read moreNo preference for European migrants post-Brexit?
20 September 2018Immigration partner Kelly Whiter discusses the release of the Migration Advisory Committee’s long awaited final report on EEA Migration in the UK.
Read moreIHT relief and holiday homes: has the tide turned?
6 September 2018Confidence in claiming Inheritance Tax (IHT) Business Property Relief (BPR) in relation to holiday homes has been at a low ebb in recent years, following a string of cases that have ultimately gone against the taxpayer. However, in the recent case of Graham v HMRC ([2018] UKFTT 0306 (TC)), the taxpayer was victorious. Has this […]
Read moreDomicile dramas
26 July 2018Many advisers have to grapple with the sometimes difficult question of establishing their client’s domicile. A client’s domicile is fundamentally important in a diverse range of English legal and tax areas, such as whether: a client can bring divorce proceedings in the UK; a client is liable to UK Inheritance Tax on worldwide assets as […]
Read more