Private Client Solicitors in London and the South East

Clear advice to protect your family, wealth and wishes

Planning what happens to your assets, making a Will or administering someone’s estate can involve important legal, financial and personal decisions.

Judge & Priestley’s experienced Private Client solicitors provide clear, practical advice on Wills, probate, trusts, estate planning and inheritance matters.

We will take the time to understand your circumstances, explain your options and help you put the right arrangements in place for you and your family.

How our Private Client solicitors can help

Our Private Client team advises individuals, families, executors, trustees and beneficiaries across London and the South East.

• Wills
• Probate
• Estate Planning
• Trusts
• Inheritance Advice

Whether you are planning for the future or dealing with the estate of someone who has died, we can provide specialist advice tailored to your assets, family circumstances and priorities.
Complete our short enquiry form and a member of our Private Client team will contact you to discuss how we can help.

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Probate and estate administration

Dealing with the estate of someone who has died can be time-consuming and emotionally difficult. Executors and administrators must follow the correct legal process and may be personally responsible for mistakes.
Our probate solicitors can assist with:

• Establishing whether probate is required
• Locating and reviewing the Will
• Applying for a Grant of Probate
• Applying for Letters of Administration where there is no Will
• Identifying and valuing estate assets
• Calculating and reporting Inheritance Tax
• Dealing with HM Revenue & Customs
• Collecting property, savings and investments
• Paying debts and estate liabilities
• Preparing estate accounts
• Distributing assets to beneficiaries
• Selling or transferring estate property
• Tracing missing beneficiaries
• Administering estates involving businesses or overseas assets

You can instruct us to obtain the Grant only or ask us to manage the complete estate administration process from start to finish.
J&P offers both Grant-only and full administration services, including asset valuation, tax reporting, collecting and transferring assets, settling liabilities and distributing the estate under the Will or intestacy rules.

Will writing solicitors

A professionally drafted Will gives you control over who should benefit from your estate and who should be responsible for administering it.
Our Will solicitors can help you:

• Decide who should inherit your assets
• Appoint executors
• Name guardians for children
• Leave gifts to individuals or charities
• Provide for a spouse, partner or family member
• Protect assets for future generations
• Create trusts within your Will
• Plan for business or agricultural assets
• Review and update an existing Will

Without a valid Will, your estate will be distributed under the intestacy rules, which may not reflect your wishes or family circumstances.
J&P provides bespoke Will-writing advice and can prepare standard Wills as well as Wills incorporating discretionary, life interest, business or agricultural property trust arrangements where appropriate.

Trust advice

Trusts can be used to hold and manage assets for another person or group of beneficiaries. They may form part of an estate plan, be created during your lifetime or arise under the terms of a Will.
Our trust solicitors can advise on the creation and administration of:

• Discretionary trusts
• Life interest trusts
• Will trusts
• Bare trusts
• Trusts for children or young beneficiaries
• Trusts for vulnerable beneficiaries
• Personal injury trusts
• Pension benefit trusts
• Family and succession-planning trusts

The right structure will depend on what you want to achieve, who should benefit and the relevant legal and tax implications.
J&P advises on lifetime trusts and trusts created through Wills, including discretionary, life interest, personal injury, pension benefit and minor-beneficiary arrangements.

Estate planning

A well-structured estate plan can help protect your wealth, provide for the people who matter to you and ensure your assets are passed on in accordance with your wishes.
Our estate planning solicitors can help you consider:

• How your assets should be distributed
• Inheritance Tax and available reliefs
• Lifetime gifts
• Property, savings and investments
• Business and agricultural assets
• Overseas property and international estates
• Digital assets
• Providing for children or vulnerable beneficiaries
• The use of Wills and trusts
• Succession planning for families and business owners

We will consider the wider picture rather than looking at one document or asset in isolation. The aim is to create a practical plan that reflects your current circumstances and can be reviewed as your life, family or finances change.
J&P’s Private Client team is recognised for work involving estate planning, international estates, philanthropy, succession of digital assets and complex inheritance arrangements.

Inheritance advice

Receiving or planning an inheritance can raise important questions about tax, property ownership, trusts and how assets should be managed or passed on.
Our solicitors can advise executors, beneficiaries and families on non-contentious inheritance matters, including:

• Understanding the terms of a Will
• The effect of the intestacy rules
• Beneficiary entitlements
• Inheritance Tax
• Post-death tax planning
• Deeds of variation
• Inherited property
• Trusts created by a Will
• Passing wealth to the next generation
• The administration and distribution of inherited assets

We can also work with your accountant, financial adviser or other professional advisers where coordinated advice is required.

Experienced Private Client solicitors

Judge & Priestley’s Private Client team is headed by David Chandra, Partner and Head of Private Client.
David has more than 20 years’ experience advising individuals and families on Wills, probate, trusts, estate planning and Inheritance Tax. He is STEP qualified and is recognised in The Legal 500 for his Private Client work.
The wider team includes experienced solicitors and STEP members advising on straightforward and complex estates, family wealth and succession planning.
Judge & Priestley’s Private Client team is ranked Tier 2 in The Legal 500 UK 2026 for the South East.

Why choose Judge & Priestley?

Advice tailored to you

Your family, assets and priorities are unique. We will take the time to understand what you want to achieve before recommending the most appropriate steps.

Clear explanations

We explain legal and estate-planning issues in straightforward language so that you can make informed decisions with confidence.

Support for simple and complex matters

We advise on everything from straightforward Wills and Grant applications to high-value estates, trusts, international assets and complex succession planning.

Connected legal expertise

Where necessary, our Private Client solicitors can work with J&P’s property, family, business and tax-related legal specialists to provide coordinated advice.

Convenient access to advice

We advise clients throughout London and the South East. Meetings may be conducted in person, by telephone or by video call, depending on your circumstances and preferences.

Speak to a Private Client solicitor

Tell us briefly about your circumstances and what you would like to achieve. A member of our Private Client team will contact you to explain how we can help and discuss the next steps.