Emma is a Senior Solicitor in the Private Wealth and Tax team. Her focus is on wills, powers of attorney, trusts, and tax- and estate-planning.
She has considerable expertise in all aspects of the executry process, and can guide clients through the difficult process of dealing with estates after death. Emma also advises on the administration of the affairs of incapable adults, including guardianships.
Emma is qualified in Scots law and is a registered Notary Public. She is also a fully qualified member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), the global professional association for practitioners specialising in family inheritance and succession planning.
Executries
- Advising executors in relation to formalities of intestate, including preparing dative petitions, obtaining caution, and distribution of intestate estate in terms of prior and legal rights.
- Advising executors of deceased who was foreign domiciled, including preparation of legal opinions for the court, liaising with overseas agents, and considering legal rights in foreign jurisdiction.
- Advising executors in relation to requirement for probative will and where a will is not self-proving, assisting with will applications under the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act, preparing applications and affidavits, and swearing deponents to contents.
- Advising executors in relation to large estates comprising business or farming assets, considering the application of Business Property Relief and Agricultural Property Relief and liaising with HMRC district valuers, in relation to extent of claims.
- Advising executors in relation to capital gains tax implications upon realisation of assets, and options for mitigation.
- Advising clients in relation to legal rights claims, including dealing with legal rights claims by legal guardian of underage beneficiaries, preparation of legal discharges, claim forms and full calculations of entitlement.
- Advising executors in relation to gifts made deceased within seven years of death, reliefs available, chargeable value of gifts for inheritance tax purposes, and application of gifts out of usual expenditure exemption.
- Advising executors of deceased in contentious executry in relation to duties and obligations in respect of a minor beneficiary.
Wills, powers of attorney and estate-planning
- Preparing death bed wills and liaising with health professionals.
- Advising clients on powers of attorney, the suite of powers available and the options available for putting these in place.
- Advising clients on living wills/advance directives.
- Advising clients of current and future inheritance tax thresholds, and considering any inheritance liability and availability of nil rate bands.
- Advising high-net-worth clients on inheritance tax liability, and advising on options for inheritance tax-planning/mitigation, either during lifetime or through wills.
- Advising clients on the care cost assessment process and potential options for mitigating these, either during lifetime or under their wills.
Guardianship applications
- Advising clients on all aspects of guardianship applications: liaising with Mental Health Officer and health professionals for completion of required reports, drafting documents for the court, serving papers on interested parties, preparing and submitting written submissions to the court, appearing in court at guardianship hearings, and arranging caution policy where ordered by the court.
Trusts
- Advising clients in relation to establishing lifetime trusts to gift property to as part of wider estate planning.
- Advising clients in relation to winding up and distribution of offshore trusts, advising on suitable vehicles to receive trust distribution and considering tax implications of same.
- Advising clients of interaction of liferent trusts with deceased’s estates, apportionment of nil rate band and reporting of same to HMRC.
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