Charles Holbech

Trusts

Charles regularly advises trustees in relation to trust, tax, and property issues. He has extensive experience in trust drafting, the use of trusts in tax planning, and in matters relating to trust administration. He is also sought out for his trust litigation skills and experience. He appeared in a leading case in the High Court on the construction of a provision in a 1948 trust for the benefit of ‘statutory next of kin’. The issue was whether adopted children were entitled, as a matter of construction, and having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights: Re Erskine Trust [2012] EWHC 732 (Ch). He has developed a speciality in contentious trust disputes involving claims for breach of trust, removal of trustees, and challenges to the exercise of trustees’ discretions. Charles had a notable recent success in Newman v Clarke [2017] 4 WLR 26 in striking out a claim that a trustee was in breach of the rule against self-dealing, on the grounds that that rule did not apply to the unilateral exercise of rights vested in the trustee prior to his appointment as a trustee. Charles is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists. Charles regularly lectures, and writes articles, on trusts and trustees.

Wills & Estates

Charles has considerable experience in relation to wills, probate and administration, and succession. He is experienced in will drafting, and in tax planning through wills. Charles has appeared in the Privy Council in a leading case on the construction of wills: Sammut v Manzi [2009] 1 WLR 1834. He also has considerable experience and expertise in claims relating to the estates of deceased persons such as probate claims, proprietary estoppel, and family provision claims. He appeared in the Court of Appeal in a leading case on proprietary estoppel: Campbell v Griffin [2001] EWCA Civ 990; and in the High Court on constructive trusts: Thomson v Humphrey [2009] EWHC 3576 (Ch). Charles has a particular interest in claims to set aside wills on the grounds of undue influence, want of knowledge and approval, lack of testamentary capacity, and/or forgery. He appeared in C v D [2012] EWHC 3214 (Ch), a case considering whether a spent conviction could be adduced as evidence of propensity for dishonesty. He has given many lectures on these issues, and has advised on and appeared in many cases in this area.

Charles has appeared in two of the leading cases on claims by adult children for reasonable provision out of the estate of a deceased parent: Robinson v Bird [2003] WTLR 529 and Garland v Morris [2007] 2 FLR 528. He regularly advises and acts in Inheritance Act claims. Most of these claims are settled. Court of Protection Charles is experienced in all matters relating to patients, mental health, the Court of Protection, lasting powers of attorney, statutory wills, and the appointment of deputies. He has appeared many times in the Court of Protection.

Charles represented the Executors of an estate on an interesting point of construction of a will in Jeffreys v Scruton [2020] EWHC 536 (Ch).

Tax & Estate Planning

Charles’ advice is increasingly in demand on tax, and tax planning issues facing individuals, trustees, and personal representatives. He regularly advises on the availability of business and agricultural property relief. Charles has edited Halsbury’s Laws of England on Inheritance Tax. He has also written two privately published booklets, on estate planning through wills, and on inheritance tax planning and trusts. Charles contributed the chapter on taxation in the current edition of Mortimer, Williams and Sunnucks on Executors, Administrators and Probate. He is frequently asked to lecture on tax by professional organisations. He was one of the invited speakers at the 2015 IBC Inheritance Tax conference.

Property

Charles’ expertise covers the whole field of property and land law, including commercial and residential landlord and tenant disputes, manorial rights, markets and fairs, leasehold enfranchisement, possession proceedings, mortgages, easements, restrictive covenants, options, conveyancing, boundary disputes, dilapidation claims, licences, adverse possession, land registration, rights of coowners, applications for sale of land, planning, trusts of land, land taxation, overage agreements, proprietary estoppel, property related negligence and insolvency, and equitable claims as they affect land.

Professional Liability

Charles has a particular interest in professional negligence and has lectured extensively upon negligence claims relating to wills. He has addressed the Professional Negligence Lawyers’ Association’s annual conference on three occasions on professional negligence in the private client context, most recently in 2019.

Associations

Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS)

Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)

Chancery Bar Association

Publications

Charles is the sole contributor of White v Jones liability for negligent advice published in Oxford Journals – October 2016. He also wrote “A hard case to make: Bromley v Breslin [2015]” published in Trusts & Estates Law Journal July/Aug 2016, and the chapter on Taxation in Williams Mortimer & Sunnucks on ‘Executors, Administrators & Probate‘ (2018) published by Sweet and Maxwell. He is a contributor to Francis, Inheritance Act Claims: Law, Practice and Procedure.

In 2012, Charles wrote an article entitled Has the golden rule lost its lustre? which was published in Trusts and Estates Law & Tax April 2012.

Education

Classics Mods, Oxford

BA in Law, Oxford

Prescribed Information

Charles Holbech is a practising barrister, who is regulated by the Bar Standards Board. Details of information held by the BSB about Charles can be found here.

Charles’s clerks will happily provide no obligation quotations for all legal services that he provides. Their contact details can be found here. It is most common for Charles to undertake Court work for either a fixed fee or brief fee plus additional refresher days. For advisory work, paperwork and conferences it is most commonly charged at an hourly rate, although fixed fees may be available depending on the circumstances. Charles will typically return paperwork within 10-14 days, however professional commitments, complexity and volume of documentation can affect these approximate timescales. Shorter timescales can be accommodated, please notify Charles’s clerk at the time of instructing if this is required.