Monika Byrska

Specialisms & expertise

Monika advises on all types of contentious trust and probate matters including: 

• Will challenges
• Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for family and Dependants) Act 1975 (“Inheritance Act claims”)
• Disputes relating to administration of estates and trusts
• Actions against trustees and personal representatives
• Promissory estoppel claims
• Trust disputes between co-owners of a property.  

Client stories & examples of work

• Acted for a beneficiary of a trust based overseas in her claim against the trustees, who refused to pay over a trust asset worth in the range of £2 million on the basis that the foreign trust instrument entitling my client to the asset, was invalid 
• Secured a provision for a victim of child sex abuse in her claim under the Inheritance Act against the estate of her abuser
• Successfully negotiated settlement between a father and his two sons in a dispute over the beneficial entitlement to a property previously owned by the father and mother jointly.  
• Represented an executor in a claim to propound as valid a lost Will of the deceased
• Secured a provision for an unmarried same sex partner in his Inheritance Act claim against the estate of his celebrity deceased partner 
• Successfully defended a claim, in which my client’s step-siblings were trying to admit to probate an invalid will of my client’s father.  The successful defence meant my client became the sole beneficiary of the father’s £3.5 million intestate estate, with assets located in 3 different jurisdictions.  

Types of client

Monika represents executors, administrators, trustees and beneficiaries regardless of whether they intend to commence a dispute or whether they are on the receiving end of a claim.

Achievements & other appointments 

Monika is a full member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS) and an associate member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).  She holds a STEP Advanced Certificate in Administration of Estates, Advanced Certificate in Cross Border Estates (awarded with distinction) and Advanced Certificate in Trust Disputes (also awarded with distinction). She is also a member of the STEP Contentious Trusts and Estates Special Interest Group. Monika is also a member of ConTrA, a network for Contentious Trusts Associates and is listed as a Citywealth Leader. 

In The Legal 500 (2019) Monika is noted to be “very straightforward and capable – she handles complex cases well”. 

Profile

With a background in languages and interpretation, Monika completed a Masters degree in European Politics Business and Law and re-qualified to become a solicitor.  She was admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales in September 2010.  Having worked at Anthony Gold, a specialised litigation firm based in London Bridge, she joined Thomson Snell and Passmore as a Partner in March 2019. 

Monika is bilingual in Polish and English and able to converse in German and Spanish. 

Monika is a very effective negotiator with sound experience in all forms of alternative dispute resolution, but where necessary is also an eloquent litigator with a proven track record of cases in the County Courts, the High Court and the Privy Council.