Caroline Miller

Practice Areas

Caroline is a partner and Head of Private Client, which comprises the Onshore, Offshore and Disputes teams. Caroline’s practice is a mix of contentious and non-contentious private client work.

Caroline advises a broad client base that includes landed estates, entrepreneurs and business owners on all aspects of estate and succession planning, inheritance tax and capital gains tax planning, asset protection and wealth structuring. Caroline advises on the creation and administration of trusts. Caroline also advises on capacity and lasting powers of attorney. Caroline has wide ranging experience acting as both a professional trustee and executor.

Caroline has extensive experience of both domestic and multijurisdictional trust disputes as well as advising trustees and beneficiaries generally on their rights and duties. Caroline frequently advises on succession issues, including will validity claims, undue influence, capacity and construction issues as well as claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 and applications for the removal of personal representatives. Caroline advises executors, beneficiaries and professionals on their duties, obligations and rights with regard to wills.

Career

Caroline trained at Penningtons and moved to the Private Client department of Finers Stephen Innocent in 2007. She joined the Private Client department of Cumberland Ellis in 2010 and has been at Wedlake Bell since the merger with Cumberland Ellis in April 2012. In 2019 Caroline was nominated for Lawyer of the Year/Partner at the CityWealth Future Leaders Awards. She is a member of Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS). Caroline is an elected member of the STEP Special Interest Group committee for Contentious Trusts and Estates.

Caroline qualified in 2006 and has a degree in Theology from the University of Durham.

Professional Memberships

Member of Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS).

Publications

Editor of In Trust, the Private Client team’s publication.

Caroline has had articles and comments featured in a wide variety of publications from specialist industry-focused ones to national newspapers.

Experience

Advising a family on estate planning in respect of the sale of real estate for £230m, including restructuring various family trusts and advising on the overarching strategy for the sale from wealth protection to dynastic planning, which included relocating two of the beneficiaries overseas.

Advising a Caribbean trust company acting as trustee of a substantial trust fund structure valued at around £400m on their duties to include strategic advice following a breakdown in family relationships.

Advising the beneficiary of a will on validity and undue influence claims and, after a successful mediation, doubling their inheritance.

Advising the trustees on a variation of trust application to extend the perpetuity period and improve the trust administration powers of a £500m trust.

Acting in the reported case of PQ and another v RS and others [2019] EWHC 1643 (Ch)

Acting in the reported case of Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch)