A new partner with specialist expertise in succession planning and inheritance tax mitigation has joined Sintons' award winning and nationally recognised Team.
Anna Stephenson, a leading private client lawyer, has recently joined Sintons’ Wills, Trusts and Estates Team. Anna previously headed up a Private Client Department at a firm in Durham and has been continuously recognised by legal directories for her technical ability and first-class client service.
Anna explained “I am absolutely delighted to join the Wills, Trusts and Estates Team at Sintons. I have a great deal of experience in providing inheritance tax advice and acting for clients whose estates include farms and family owned businesses. I thoroughly enjoy building relationships with clients allowing me to understand their goals and objectives and to find solutions that provide peace of mind to their estate planning. In joining the team I feel extremely confident that providing the highest possible level of client care is at the forefront of everything they do. It is exciting to be here, working alongside extremely talented lawyers.
Paul Collingwood, a partner in the team, welcomes Anna.
“Anna’s arrival further strengthens the technical capabilities of our team. Anna is an incredibly well thought of solicitor and is a great addition to the team. Anna’s arrival comes at a time of proposed significant amendments to the inheritance tax rules and the Wills Bill 2025 reforms” said Paul.
“The announcement by the Chancellor in the Autumn Budget of changes to inheritance tax reliefs are prompting the need for farmers and business owners to seek legal advice over their succession planning” said Paul. “The reforms proposed by the Wills Bill 2025 will also have an impact on a client’s planning. It is essential that we have the capability to continue to provide clients with first-class legal advice in light of the proposed changes”.
Reforms which have been recommended in the Wills Bill 2025 will modernise the law governing wills to ensure it is fit for purpose in the modern age. The reforms include enabling electronic wills to be formally valid, abolishing the law that a person’s will is revoked on marriage or when they enter into a civil partnership, reducing the minimum age at which a person can make a will from 18 years to 16 years, and updating the capacity test to make a will so that it is aligned with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Sintons’ Wills, Trusts and Estates Team, which is one of the largest such teams in the region, is highly ranked by independent guides such as the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, with senior members of the team regularly being named as leaders in their field.
Alongside this recognition, members of the team hold accreditation from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), the Association of Lifetime Lawyers, and many are also Dementia Friends.
You can find out more at sintons.co.uk