Susie advises on private wealth disputes.
Susie joined Stevens & Bolton in 2024 having trained and qualified in 2020 at a City firm.
Susie acts for both claimants and defendants on the full range of contentious trusts and estate matters, including claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975, will challenges, property trust disputes and trust and estate administration disputes. She also has experience in contested Court of Protection matters. Her clients include executors, trustees, beneficiaries, charities and attorneys.
Recent highlights include:
- Acting for the executor and beneficiary of an estate in defending a claim brought under the Inheritance Act 1975 by a cohabiting partner and successfully settling the matter at mediation
- Acting for an executor in recovering purported lifetime gifts made by an individual who lacked capacity
- Acting for a beneficiary to remove the personal representative of their mother’s estate and secure an order from 100% of the client’s costs at a final hearing
- Successfully applying to the Court of Protection to obtain declarations of a protected party’s capacity to enter into sexual relations and marriage, as well as reaching a successful settlement in respect of disputes as to where the protected party should reside and with whom they should have contact
- Advising a beneficiary and executor in respect of a contested application to court to prove an unsigned copy of a will
- Advising an executor in defending a claim regarding the beneficial ownership of an estate property under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 and successfully settling the matter at mediation
- Acting for the executor of the estate of an agent of a well-known comedian and writer in defending claims relating to purportedly misappropriated royalties brought by the comedian’s family
Susie has been recommended as a key lawyer in The Legal 500 for contentious trusts and probate and in the field of Court of Protection work.
Susie is a member of ConTrA (the Contentious Trusts Association), the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS), and the Court of Protection Practitioners Association (CoPPA).