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UK

Claude Alleston

Partner

England & Wales

020 3319 3700

claude.alleston@keystonelaw.co.uk

Claude is a private client solicitor who advises in relation to wills, estate planning, tax, domestic and international trust and corporate structures, residence and domicile, powers of attorney, probate and estate administration, and charities. He has a broad client base, advising individuals, families, trustees, executors, beneficiaries, corporate entities, family offices, trust companies and other institutions supporting them.

Claude’s practice principally focuses on advising high-net-worth individuals and their families on how best to structure, manage and protect their personal estates and affairs for themselves and future generations. This often involves advice on tax planning, asset structuring, wills and powers of attorney.

Claude’s other area of specialism is the administration of complex and often substantial estates, frequently with international elements. He also advises on the creation and administration of charitable entities.

Expertise

Claude advises UK and international individuals on wills, trusts and mental capacity planning, providing complex UK estate and succession solutions incorporating tax efficiency, trust structures, lasting powers of attorney, and wealth protection strategies.

Experience

  • Advised an ultra-high-net-worth non-UK domiciled individual on the structuring of the purchase of two high-value residential properties in the UK, including the preparation of a UK will and lasting powers of attorney with bespoke letters of wishes, domicile advice, and the writing of a substantial life assurance policy into trust to provide for potential inheritance tax liability.
  • Advised in relation to the structuring of a substantial lifetime gift of UK residential property to a high-net-worth individual’s child including the use of a private loan, a bare trust and co-ownership agreement, the preparation of a will incorporating discretionary trusts and bespoke letters of wishes, lasting powers of attorney, and a nuptial agreement.
  • Advised the trustees in relation to the complex tax implications of the retention by a will trust of a loan note assigned to the deceased as part of an inheritance tax planning exercise by the surviving parents and assisting with the preparation of trust deeds and documentation to mitigate the tax and bring the trust to an end, and associated reporting to HMRC.
  • Advised the executors of a multi-jurisdictional estate in relation to the reporting to HMRC of a complex claim for non-UK domicile including, advice on gifts with reservation, pre-owned assets tax, trust interests, deeds of variation, HMRC enquiries and the ongoing administration of the estate.

Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.

Recognition

Recognised in Citywealth’s Future Leaders 2017

Recognised in ePrivateClient’s Top 35 Under 35 2016, 2017

Claude qualified as a solicitor in 2012. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2021, he worked at the following firms:

  • Brecher
  • Penningtons Manches Cooper
  • Irwin Mitchell