A comprehensive, highly personal service for individuals and their families. We listen to our clients and provide the solutions to protect their wealth for themselves and future generations.

WEALTH STRUCTURING AND SUCCESSION PLANNING

Under this broad heading the Private Client team at Kingsley Napley cover anything from simple Wills directing assets on death all the way through to complex gifting and mitigating inheritance tax through trusts and corporate structures. 

We concentrate on the wishes of the client and provide bespoke advice which could take the shape of lifetime gifting through family investment companies, limited liability partnerships or trusts. It also covers Wills, which are often flexible in their nature but provide control for the appointed executors/trustees.

We work with a wide range of clients but have specific expertise on more complex cases, especially involving cross border assets and privately owned companies. We like to be there for every step with the client over generations and will often work side by side with other advisors such as accountants and financial advisors. 

If we could sum up what we look to achieve for every client in a single phrase, it would be – “we are in the business of asset protection for families across generations”.

View our Succession Planning and Inheritance Tax page

TRUSTS CREATION AND ADVICE - OFFSHORE AND ONSHORE TRUSTS

Trusts are not as effective as they once were for holding assets. The same can be said for offshore companies holding residential property.  However, they still have their place in succession planning as their main aim is asset protection and tax mitigation. 

Our private client team has many decades of trust experience including the creation of trusts and advice to trustees and beneficiaries surrounding the running of a trust. This does not just cover onshore trusts but also offshore trusts. We work with advisors in other jurisdictions to provide joined up advice for clients with a UK footprint.

View our Trusts page

UK TAX FOR INTERNATIONAL CLIENTS

Our immigration team assists a significant number of clients moving to the UK on a yearly basis. The complexities of UK tax can often be just as hard as arranging for a permanent stay in the UK and steps need to be taken before an individual or family becomes UK resident. 

We have tax specialists in the our private client team that regularly advise international clients on UK tax matters when they are considering a move to the UK, considering investing in the UK or have already moved to the UK. We also advise clients who are looking to leave the UK about how best to manage the exit process. 

We often work closely with accountants and cover areas such as residence, domicile and clean capital planning.  We also review their asset base in the UK and recommend UK Wills and UK Lasting Powers of Attorney if appropriate.

Visit our International Personal Tax and Succession Planning page

COMPLEX PROBATE

While we are able to carry out probate work for a wide range of estates, we have a strong reputation in the marketplace for tackling the more complex work surrounding international assets, significant inheritance tax bills and dealing with important tax exempt assets such as private businesses or agricultural land. 

We advise executors and also beneficiaries on the administration of the estate and look to provide bespoke pragmatic advice to move through the administration as quickly as possible. We are adept at dealing with local lawyers in different jurisdictions if required, and advising on the impact of the EU succession regulation, European matrimonial laws and the effect of UK tax on overseas assets. 

Probates will usually have two or three fee earners attached to it in order to provide continuity and a blended hourly charge out rate.

Visit our Probate and Estate Administration page

Cross Border Mental Capacity Issues

The older generation are the first generation who have really travelled the world and begun owning assets in different jurisdictions on a regular basis.  As indicated above this requires careful succession planning and focused cross border probate on death. However one area that is often overlooked when advising clients, and needs particular careful consideration, is loss of capacity for these global clients. 

Kingsley Napley Private Client team will regularly advice domestic clients on loss of capacity and have a well-regarded Court of Protection team.  However a key focus is cross border loss of capacity where clients lose capacity in the UK or in another country and have assets in other countries. In order for their family to get access to these assets, the appropriate legal authority will need to be sought in the relevant jurisdiction. This may be through the court or through a Power of Attorney already drafted. There will be considerations regarding habitual residence and the advice of professional advisors in the relevant jurisdictions is vital.

Visit our Court of Protection and Deputyship pages

Residential and Commercial Real Estate

Our Real Estate team act for many families on both commercial and residential property transactions.  Commercial projects include hotels, restaurants, office and apartment blocks, retail parks, manufacturing, scientific and aviation facilities.  Residential matters range from substantial London houses, luxury penthouses, country houses and landed estates to modern apartments for the younger generation.

Our team are known in the market for their diligence and commitment to our clients. Our clients and their lenders have remarked that our title investigations are some of the most thorough and detailed in the market. For this reason we are often chosen to act in transactions with new-build and heritage properties.   

Clients appreciate our ‘can do’ attitude to transactions to ensure the matters proceed as quickly and smoothly as possible. We are always on hand to provide advice when our clients need it. We work tirelessly to help secure our clients’ property and overcome challenges that may arise during the process.

The team will aim to protect our clients’ interests and structure the transaction in the most efficient way, working in conjunction with other practice areas within the firm: private client (tax), family, commercial,  immigration and dispute resolution. We offer a truly personal service and bespoke legal solutions based on our multi-disciplinary expertise.

Visit our Real Estate & Construction pages

Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

If you are planning to marry (or enter a civil partnership), you may wish to take steps to protect your assets in the event your relationship breaks down by entering into a prenuptial or pre civil partnership agreement. Increasingly, individuals are looking to prepare agreements to give them more certainty about their financial rights and obligations if the marriage breaks down in the future. 

If you are already married, you may want to consider entering into a post nuptial agreement to regulate the financial terms of any separation. Since the 2010 case of Radmacher and Granatino, courts should give effect to a nuptial agreement that is freely entered into by each party with a full appreciation of its implications unless, in the circumstances prevailing, it would not be fair to hold the parties to their agreement. 

If you have assets or income to protect, a nuptial agreement can form part of your estate planning in the future. Such agreements can also deal with financial, tax and succession planning, and can be tailored to your specific objectives.

We are highly experienced in drafting, negotiating and advising on pre and post nuptial agreements. We give clear and efficient advice on the law, but we are sensitive to the emotional difficulties associated with the process. 

View our Prenuptial Agreements page
View our Postnuptial Agreements page

Immigration advice

Our top ranked immigration team specialises in assisting high net worth individuals and their families looking to relocate to or remain in the UK.

Our team can provide clear, pragmatic advice on the potential options available to investors, founders and owners looking to establish businesses in the UK. We will advise on the best solution for you and your family, and can support you from initial planning through to obtaining your visas, permanent residence and British Citizenship.

We also have particular expertise helping those with exceptional talent in their field to apply for the Global Talent visa programme. Following the closure of the investor scheme programme in 2022, we are working with clients to find alternative solutions to allow them to make their home in the UK.

We are also able to assist partners and senior executives transferring to work in a UK office across a broad range of industries, while our international network of trusted immigration co-counsel also allows us to support clients who wish to live, work and travel all over the world.

Visit our Immigration pages

Company and Commercial advice

Our company and commercial team have a long history in acting for individuals in their private and business lives, the team are able to advise on:

• Entrepreneurs – We provide a personal and responsive service to our entrepreneur clients, whether they are in the start-up phase of a business, looking for their next acquisition or disposing of a business. We can assist in planning for an exit and alongside our Private Client Team, implement tax efficient measures in the run-up to any sale to maximise returns.
• Family Investment Companies and LLPs (FICs) – As part of the wider asset protection and succession planning undertaken by our Private Client Team, we advise on the establishment and ongoing management of FICs as an alternative to family trust structures. FICs can be established to enable the founders (normally the parents or grandparents) to retain control over assets whilst accumulating wealth in a tax efficient manner and enabling future succession planning.
• Debt Finance – We advise in relation to all banking matters, whether in respect of a residential mortgage, luxury asset financing, equity release or financing arrangements as part of wealth structuring and succession planning. We are well-versed in the issues facing borrowers and are able to help clients navigate through complex documentation to achieve their objectives.

Visit our Company, Commercial and Finance pages

Senior Executive employment advice

Our employment team advises and represents senior executives and board directors, partners, entrepreneurs, and high profile public figures throughout their employment journey, from negotiating the terms of a new contract through to exiting a role, and everything in between.

We maximise our clients' financial position by explaining and enforcing their legal rights and duties.  We communicate clearly and listen carefully to our clients to ensure that we protect their interests and reach their goals. Drawing on many years of experience, and our commercial and strategic expertise, we help clients to resolve sensitive disputes creatively, and deliver results in line with their objectives.

Visit our Employment Services for Executives page

Tax planning and advice

Our specialist tax team is able to advise clients in a number of ways, including:

• Compliance, reporting and disclosure.
• Private client advice, including the tax residence status of individuals, estate planning for families with interests in multiple jurisdictions and for those with existing trusts or other tax efficient structures already in place.
• Pre and post immigration tax advice for individuals including the movement of personal goods to the UK.
• Tax planning and advice in relation to business assets.
• Corporate and commercial matters, including mergers & acquisitions, restructurings and contracts.
• Real estate advice, including structuring and advising on freehold, leasehold and development matters.

Visit our Tax Law and HMRC pages