Private Wealth Solicitors

Our comprehensive private wealth protection service can help you to protect your assets and business interests, whatever happens in life.

Whether you want to leave a legacy for the next generation, protect your wealth during marriage, or access specialist business or property advice, we have the expertise to support you.

Download our Private wealth and succession planning brochure.

Why choose our private wealth team?

Our large, multi-disciplinary team provides a seamless service, covering a wide range of personal and business law. Our approach is always collaborative. We can work together with your existing financial and wealth advisors to provide an integrated single solution to protect your wealth across all areas of your life.

Although we are a big team, we know that the personal touch is important. If you choose to partner with us at Brachers, you will always have a dedicated contact who will get to know you and understand your needs.

We strive to provide the best added value service possible, whether that is out-of-hours phone calls when you need support, or guidance and updates through our legal Q&As or webinar programme.

Over our 125-year history, we’ve become experts at building long-term relationships with our clients across Kent and the south east, including SMEs, family businesses and local professionals.

We are also part of the Marcalliance global network of international lawyers, connecting us to legal experts around the world. So we can support you even if your legal affairs cross international borders.

In March 2020 we opened our new office in Canterbury, and this greater presence has helped us support our East Kent client base further, enabling us to provide greater support to our many clients in the area, including agricultural businesses and farming families.

Recognition of our expertise

Brachers solicitors are consistently ranked in the top guides to law firms. The team is ranked in the top tier for ‘Personal, Tax, Trusts and Probate’ in The Legal 500 and in Band 2 in the area of private wealth law in Chambers and Partners High Net Worth Guide.

Brachers’ Head of Private Client, Christopher Eriksson-Lee, is ranked as the only top tier lawyer for private wealth law in Kent in the Chambers and Partners High Net Worth Guide.

If you instruct us to help with the purchase or sale of property, you will be in safe hands. Our Residential Conveyancing team are accredited by the Law Society of England and Wales’ Conveyancing Quality Scheme, a recognised industry quality standard for handling property transactions.

Our teams are regularly recognised in numerous prestigious industry awards. Recent highlights include:

• shortlisted for ‘Best Probate Law Firm – London and the South East’ at the UK Probate Research Awards 2022
• winning ‘Best Probate Law Firm – London and the South East’ at the UK Probate Research Awards 2021
• three members of the firm were winners at Kent Law Society’s COVID Heroes Awards 2021
• gaining second place in the ‘Best operational continuity category’ at the prestigious Managing Partners’ Forum Awards 2021
• winning ‘Private Client Team of the Year’ at the British Wills and Probate Awards 2020
• being shortlisted for two consecutive years at the Family Law Awards 2019/2020

Find out more about our awards, accreditations and partnerships that make us stand out from the rest.

How we can help

Simply expand the sections below for more information on the services and support available to you.

• Wills, probate and Powers of Attorney

  Providing bespoke, practical advice on the best way to plan for your future and leave your assets to your chosen beneficiaries.

  Our award-winning team can advise you on drawing up Wills and handling probate matters and unlike many regional firms, we also have a specialist Trust team who advise on trusts and estate planning for high net worth clients.

  We also have a dedicated team who are experts in helping elderly and vulnerable clients, and ensuring legal protections such as Power of Attorney and deputyships are in place if you become more vulnerable in later life.

  Head of the team, Partner Mary Rimmer, is a Dementia Champion for the Alzheimer’s Society’s ‘Dementia Friends’ campaign, and has created over 1,150 Dementia Friends to date.

  Tax planning

  Our experienced tax planning and trust lawyers provide advice on lifetime capital tax planning to a broad range of clients including farmers, professionals and families with complicated financial arrangements.

  Our tailored approach will help you to avoid unnecessary inheritance tax, capital gains tax or income tax, and highlight tax exemptions that may apply to your estate.

  We have established relationships with other trusted financial advisors in the south east so that we can work together with your advisors to cover every angle to protect your assets.

  Succession planning and gifting

  If you want to leave your wealth to the next generation, our legal experts will ensure the right structure is in place.

  We can advise you on inheritance tax reliefs and exemptions, particularly if you own business or agricultural property.

  Our advice can include:

  • inheritance tax planning
  • Will drafting
  • lifetime and charitable gifting
  • trusts and trust management
  • arrangements for those living outside of the UK.

  We aim to pre-empt and prevent family conflict, giving you peace of mind that your heirs will be provided for as you intended.

  Succession planning for landed estates, farms and rural businesses

  Our agricultural law specialists understand rural life and the challenges that you face.

  If you want to pass on your estate, farm or rural business to the next generation, we will make sure the process is as smooth and stress-free as possible.

  We also understand that future generations may wish to diversify your agricultural offering, and can help you prepare for this.

  Our experts will work closely with you and your financial advisors, accountants or agents to protect the needs of all your family.

  Watch our short video on succession planning in farming today.

  Family Investment Companies

  A popular choice for wealthy individuals as a useful tool for tax and family wealth planning, a Family Investment Company (FIC) enables you to pass on wealth to future generations in a tax efficient way.

  Before setting up a FIC, there are a number of initial steps that you need to think about. These include the consideration of how much you are going to invest and what asset the family investment company will invest in.  

  Find out more about Family Investment Companies and how we can help you to protect your wealth.

  Family offices

  You may wish to establish a family office to help manage your financial and legal needs and help a smooth transition of private wealth between generations.  To find out how this could benefit you, our private wealth team can advise you.

  We work flexibly, tailoring our services to your family’s needs. We’ll help you navigate the complex governance issues involved in family offices and plan for your long term future.

  Contentious Wills, trusts and estates

  Disputes over Wills can be complex, difficult and emotionally charged, particularly with high value estates and trusts.

  If you want to contest a Will or claim an inheritance if you’ve been left out of a Will, our highly respected team can support you.

  Our goal is to resolve disputes by negotiation, mediation and other methods of alternative dispute resolution. Our calm and sensitive approach aims to preserve family relationships.

  If court proceedings cannot be avoided, we will ensure they are conducted professionally, skillfully and as cost-effectively as possible.

  Protecting assets before and after marriage

  Pre and post nuptial agreements are an important tool to protect your wealth.

  Our family lawyers have extensive experience helping to protect clients’ assets and understanding what influences the courts’ decisions.

  We can advise on you drawing up agreements to suit your circumstances, including:

  • where there is an imbalance of wealth
  • if you want to protect an inheritance for children from a previous relationship
  • where one of you wants to safeguard family wealth.

  Divorce

  We have a strong track record of supporting high net worth clients through the painful process of divorce, and we understand the complex legal and commercial issues involved.

  Our highly experienced and empathetic family divorce lawyers will ensure you get the best representation. Our team can advise you on:

  • spousal and child maintenance, including payment of school fees and maintaining lifestyle
  • child arrangements after divorce if one party lives outside of the UK
  • defining matrimonial and non-matrimonial assets
  • examining family income and wealth, especially inherited wealth and offshore assets
  • complex pension and trust schemes
  • search orders and freezing orders to protect assets.

  If you, or your partner, own a business, divorce can be particularly complicated. We know that it is necessary to understand how a business is owned, its value, and the income it provides to assess the appropriate level of maintenance.

  Our specialist corporate and commercial solicitors are part of the team. They understand business structures and can help you get the best outcome.

  Residential conveyancing and property portfolios

  Our bespoke service for high value property transactions gives you peace of mind that you’ll get the support and advice you need.

  We can advise you on:

  • buying and selling high value property
  • buying a second home
  • property investments
  • equity release
  • standalone mortgages to raise funds for investments.

  If you own a portfolio of properties, we can support you with a full range of specialist services for property managers, investors and landlords.

  Business interests and family businesses

  We’ve been working with business owners and entrepreneurs for more than 125 years, so we understand what it takes to make a business succeed.

  We’ll get to know you and your company, and work with you to achieve your goals. We provide high quality services at competitive prices, making sure you get value for money.

  Whether you’re looking to start a business, grow your company, make investments or sell your business, our corporate and commercial team can support you.