Lawrence Hiller-Wood

Lawrence is an associate in the Will, Trust & Estate Disputes team. He acts for a wide range of clients, including individuals, families, trustees, executors and beneficiaries.

Lawrence advises clients on a broad spectrum of contentious trust and probate disputes, both as claimant and defendant. He has increasing expertise advising on High Net Worth estates and those involving an international element.

Working closely with his clients from the outset, Lawrence identifies what is most important in a dispute and tailors his advice to deliver cost effective and pragmatic solutions. He is experienced in alternative dispute resolution and will seek to avoid court involvement wherever possible.

Claims to the construction or validity of a Will
Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
Disputes relating to the administration of estates and trusts
Removal and substitution of trustees and executors
Applications to rectify or set aside trust documents
Applications for accounts and disclosure of documents
Professional negligence relating to Wills, trusts and tax planning.

Trust Disputes: Hopes & Anor (Trustees of the Skandia Life Policy Trust) v Burton & Ors [2022] EWHC 2770 (Ch)

Successful application to the High Court to set aside a series of defective trust deeds of the grounds of mistake, saving the trust from unintended tax liabilities of over £400,000.

Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 - claimant

Obtaining reasonable financial provision for the adult child of the Deceased by mediated settlement without proceedings being issued.

Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975

Successfully defending a claim brought by a cohabitee of the Deceased, securing the benefit of the whole estate for the adult children without court proceedings being issued.

Successful defence of £12m Will challenge

Successfully defending a will challenge brought by the adult children of the Deceased’s first marriage in an estate worth over £12 million. The claim was abandoned without any proceedings or significant costs being incurred.

Successful settlement of 9 year inheritance dispute

Successful mediation for reasonable financial provision for an adult child of the Deceased without proceedings being issued.

Historic breach of trust

Advising multiple generations of beneficiaries on historic breach of trust claims involving three estates and several family trusts.

Agricultural estates and trusts

Advising beneficiaries on professional negligence affecting multiple lifetime settlements and an estate holding valuable agricultural land worth over £10 million.

Proprietary estoppel

Successfully mediating a proprietary estoppel claim brought by a long-serving employee and friend of the Deceased who had been promised a valuable London property.

Lasting Power of Attorney claims

Successfully defending claims brought against an attorney under a registered Property and Finances LPA for transactions entered into by the Deceased during their lifetime at a time where capacity was in dispute.

Achievements & other appointments

Lawrence is a member of ConTrA (the Contentious Trusts Association). He regularly contributes to legal publications and his work has been featured in Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal.

Lawrence is a member of OpenWealth, a network for LGBT+ professionals in the private wealth industry.

Lawrence in ranked in Chambers HNW

Junior Lawyer of the Year – Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge & District Law Society, Junior Lawyers Division Achievement Awards.

Contentious Wills & Probate Team of the Year - Boutique - Highly commended

Chambers ranked in HNW, Lawrence Hiller-Wood

Best will writing firm - Probate - Probate research awards

Education

Lawrence graduated from the University of Sussex with a first class degree in Law. He went on to complete his LPC at the University of Law in Guildford with distinction.

In addition to his specialist practice, Lawrence is studying to obtain specialist accreditation in the field of contentious trusts and probate.

Lawrence joined Thomson Snell & Passmore in 2019.

My solicitor Lawrence Hiller-Wood was absolutely brilliant throughout my complex and emotionally difficult Inheritance Act claim. From the initial consultation, where he listened carefully, and asked the right questions in a compassionate yet legally astute way (and was therefore able quickly to assess the situation and best approach) to the final successful outcome, Lawrence’s professionalism, sharp legal mind, impressive knowledge and attention to detail, together with his caring, patient and respectful approach, not only in terms of my case but also our challenging circumstances, made the whole process far less of an ordeal than it otherwise would have been. He was also able to consult his colleagues in other departments when we needed specific advice, for example getting much needed guidance regarding complicated estate tax matters, and was also able to recommend a shortlist of excellent mediators when that was needed. I am extremely grateful to Lawrence and everyone at the firm of Thomson Snell & Passmore and would highly recommend him – and the firm – to anyone seeking legal representation.

From our first meeting I found Lawrence to be calm, capable and understanding. His knowledge of this area of the law was excellent and, at times, he had to educate legal representatives at other law firms on matters of legal process and procedure. Lawrence regularly kept me up to date and immediately informed me if he received new information, or if he felt we should be chasing replies to our questions.

I very much had the feeling that Lawrence cared about the situation that I found myself in, and was on my side. He made dealing with my contested Will issue much less stressful and I had confidence that Lawrence would find a resolution. In just a few weeks he had resolved this issue to everyone’s satisfaction and we are all moving forward with a solution that everyone is happy with.

I would be very happy to recommend Lawrence.

Associate, Will, Trust & Estate Disputes

Specialisms & expertise

Examples of work