Amy Williams

Amy Williams is a Partner in Sinclair Gibson's litigation department and specialises in contentious trusts and estates work. She advises on complex trust and probate disputes, including challenges to the validity of wills involving allegations of undue influence, lack of testamentary capacity and want of knowledge and approval. Amy regularly represents both claimants and defendants in claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, achieving successful outcomes through both mediation and court proceedings. Her practice also includes advising trustees, executors and beneficiaries on trust disputes, including trustee removal applications, court directions and blessing applications, trust administration issues and trustee fee disputes. She also advises clients on possible professional negligence claims against their previous professional advisors i.e. accountants, tax advisors, lawyers, ancillary to their probate and trust disputes, as well as restitution claims against HMRC following such professionally negligent advice.

Amy has additional expertise in Court of Protection matters representing attorneys, deputies and family members of someone who has lost mental capacity, particularly where capacity issues intersect with estate and trust disputes. She acts on both domestic and cross-border private wealth disputes and is recognised for her pragmatic and strategic and client-focused approach to litigation.

Partner, Sinclair Gibson LLP since July 2023 having joined the firm as a paralegal in 2011.

ACTAPS

STEP

• Advises trustees, executors and beneficiaries in complex trust and estate disputes.

• Acts in contentious probate claims involving allegations of undue influence and lack of capacity.

• Represents parties in Inheritance Act claims through mediation and court proceedings.

• Advises on Court of Protection applications linked to estate and trust matters.

• Handles domestic and international trust disputes.

• Acting for the executor and trustee defendants to an Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claim brought by a widow in defending an argument for a nuptial settlement.

• Acting for applicants to Variation of Trusts Act 1958 applications to extend the perpetuity period and update the terms of family and employee benefit trusts for the benefit of future generations.

• Liaising with professional trustees to improve communications with our beneficiary clients to avoid the need for trustee removal claims or negotiating trust partitions where family relations have broken down.

• Advising a sibling on an application for a forced sale of a property to entangle her from an ongoing dispute with her brother after a family inheritance.

• Appling to HMRC for restitution of overpaid tax by trustees due to poor advice, in tandem with a professional negligence claim against the accountants.

• Advising siblings in relation to their beneficial interest in their grandmother’s estate with multiple wills with disputed validity and intimated Inheritance Act claims by elderly relatives.

• Applications to the Court of Protection for deputyship and safeguarding, as well as extending the scope of an attorney’s powers under a property and financial affairs LPA to deal with the family’s care home business.

• High-value trust and estate disputes.

• Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claims.

• Will validity disputes.

• Trust administration disputes.

• Trustee removal and court directions applications.

• Court of Protection proceedings.

• Cross-border trust litigation.