Nicholas Horton

Nick specialises in heavyweight cases where there are disputes relating to wills, trusts and estates, and in related professional negligence matters. He has excellent working relationships with colleagues in the firm’s Wills, Estate & Tax Planning team, the firm’s Probate team and the firm’s Trust Management team, collaborating with them on multiple matters including Independent Estate Administrations where relationships between parties are often strained. He also has wide-ranging contacts with contentious trust and probate lawyers in other firms, with specialist counsel and with expert witnesses in this field.

Nick trained and qualified with the firm. He has over 25 years’ experience as a litigator, gained not just from will, trust and estate disputes but also from more general commercial disputes, professional negligence cases involving complex property issues, and planning law. This enables him to see the wider picture, and to bring a strategic approach to his matters for the benefit of his clients. He is able to explain complex matters in a way that clients find easy to understand and he puts clients at ease.

He always strives to obtain the best results, knowing tactically when to issue or defend court proceedings and when to try to compromise through negotiation or more formal ADR. He always has clients’ best interests in mind, questioning whether the cost (and potential exposure for opponent’s costs) of taking any particular step justify the likely benefits to be gained by doing so.

Will validity challenges
Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependants) Act 1975
Proprietary estoppel / constructive trust claims
Cases where there are problems with the administration of trusts and estates (delay / excessive costs / lack of information / withholding of documents etc)
Disputes with, or between, executors and trustees
Cases where executors or trustees need to be removed or are being threatened with removal applications
Cases concerning the interpretation (construction) of a Will or of trust documents
Rectification applications
Applications to the court for directions, costs protection or the blessing of decisions / settlements
Professional negligence cases relating to estate or trust administration, Will drafting or tax planning advice.

Representing executors on a 7 year estate administration involving the investigation or pursuit / defence of multiple claims or threatened claims largely relating to the Deceased’s valuable London property.

Such claims or threatened claims were considered against, made by, or made against the Deceased’s former Court of Protection deputy, his widow, his mortgagee, the immediate landlord of his property, and certain employees of his business. This culminated in a successful application to the court for its blessing of the terms of settlement reached on all claims that were pursued, for its agreement to the terms on which the estate was to be distributed, and for appropriate protection to be afforded to the executors personally.

Acting for beneficiaries who alleged that their father’s £multi-million estate was being mis-managed by his executor and by the firm of solicitors instructed by that executor.

We obtained a court order by consent replacing the executor with our firm’s trust corporation. Claims against the former executor for breach of trust and breach of duty are now being pursued, and an assessment of the solicitor’s firm’s costs is being sought by the beneficiaries.

Acting for beneficiaries where the Deceased’s more recent Will, largely cutting them out completely and leaving them £millions worse off than they would have been under the previous Will, had been executed in circumstances where the Deceased allegedly lacked capacity and did not know and understand the contents of the new Will.

The solicitors who acted on the drawing up of the new Will had failed to comply with the Golden Rule and there were also reasons to believe that the new Will had been procured as a result of undue influence by a family member of the Deceased.

Applying successfully for permission to bring a 1975 Act claim out of time for a child with special needs

Additionally, once the case had concluded, bringing a professional negligence claim against the child’s former solicitors for residual losses and for increased costs resulting from their failure to commence the 1975 Act claim in time.

Advising trustees of a discretionary Will trust

Advising on how to exercise their discretion and how to avoid incurring personal liability for costs in the face of a 1975 Act claim and a debt/damages claim against a large estate with assets in several jurisdictions.

Representing trustees in defending a potential breach of trust claim

Plus, in mitigation of the losses caused to the trust, advising them on applying to intervene in separate court proceedings initiated by one of the beneficiaries so as to obtain appropriate declaratory relief on the extent of the trusts’ assets.

Acting for beneficiaries in a professional negligence claim

This claim was against a large London private client firm for losses arising from tax planning advice provided to their late father. The reservation of benefit rules had not been complied with properly, meaning that the father’s estate was subject to a higher IHT charge than it should have been.

Pursuing a professional negligence claim against a major law firm

The claim was for failing to provide appropriate IHT advice upon the setting up of a lifetime settlement to hold assets inherited from a testator’s father, who was domiciled abroad. Loans were made from the settlement to the testator’s spouse and to the testator to reduce / further reduce the values of their estates, but the debts were not created as specialty debts, meaning that the settlement unnecessarily fell within the ambit of the UK IHT regime.

Achievements & other appointments

Nick and his team are highly regarded in the field of Contentious Trusts and Probate:

‘Nicholas Horton has been handling my case. I have found Mr Horton to be exceptional. Calm, constructive and undefeated in his approach in an extremely difficult, complicated case which has caused me great concern. Prior to engaging Mr Horton I felt the situation was impossible. Instantly, with Mr Horton, I felt my case was in safe hands and so it has proved’ – Legal 500, 2023.
‘I have always found the team at Thomson Snell & Passmore to be excellent. Extremely responsive, helpful and forward-thinking in finding a course of action that works for you. Fairly priced and yet a level of service and knowledge far beyond that – Thomson Snell & Passmore in my opinion is beyond compare’ – Legal 500, 2023.

Nicholas is ranked in Chambers HNW.

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

Nicholas Horton, ranked in Chambers High Net Worth 2024

Best will writing firm - Probate - Probate research awards

Education

Nick completed the Graduate Conversion Course in Law at Sussex University and the Law Society Finals at the College of Law, Guildford.

Nick was admitted as a Solicitor in 1995 and became an Equity Partner in 2005.

Head of Will, Trust & Estate Disputes

Specialisms & expertise

Examples of work