Geoff Kertesz

Geoff’s experience consists entirely of dealing with complex litigation relating to trusts and estates, often with an offshore element. He has experience with cases involving the UK, Bermuda, US, Channel Islands, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong, among other jurisdictions. Geoff is equally at ease dealing with purely domestic matters.

Unusually for a litigator, Geoff acts as a trustee, which gives him a first-hand view of the issues facing trusts and trustees. Geoff has also been appointed as an expert witness in the High Court of England and Wales on matters relating to cross-border litigation.

Geoff joined Stewarts in 2020. He originally qualified in San Francisco and cross-qualified as an English solicitor in 2008. On moving to London, he was at Withers and then at Bircham Dyson Bell, where he headed up the will and trust disputes team.

The Association of Contentious Trusts and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS)

The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)

Trusts and Estates Section of the State Bar of California

Serle Court International Trusts and Commercial Litigation Conference New York 2019: Confidentiality and open justice in trust and commercial cases

Transcontinental Trusts Forum Bermuda 2019: What to do when you are asked for trust documents

Contra Trusts in Litigation Conference Athens 2019: Capacity in the trusts context

Geoff enjoys running, fishing, and gardening.

Acted for the successful party in Grand View v Wong, where the Privy Council gave helpful guidance regarding the proper exercise of trustees’ powers

Representing one of the parties in what is considered to be the largest (by value) claim in Bermudian legal history which went to trial for 19 weeks during 2021

Acting for the successful beneficiaries in AB v CD, an unusual case where trustees surrendered their discretion to an English court

Defending a proprietary estoppel claim relating to one of a handful of privately-owned villages in England

In the Cayman Islands, defending trustees against claims of breach of trust through material non-disclosure and successfully arguing that a beneficiary had forfeited her interest in the trust