Nicola Johnston (TEP)
Solicitor, Private Client
Nicola trained in Darlington with a local firm of solicitors, qualifying in 2009, and is a fully accredited member of STEP (The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) and SFE (Solicitors for the Elderly), a specialist group of lawyers assisting vulnerable and elderly individuals. Nicola joined Latimer Hinks in 2019.
Areas of practice:
Nicola specialises in Trusts, estates and tax planning. She is highly experienced in dealing with the preparation of Wills and Powers of Attorney, including the assessment of capacity. Nicola is also proficient at handling Probate matters and the administration of estates, together with assisting clients with their estate planning and Trusts.
Although Nicola works within our Private Client Team, she also has an extensive knowledge of property law having practised in this area for a number of years carrying out both residential and commercial property transactions. This knowledge is particularly useful especially for those private client matters where there are commercial property interests.
Recent matters:
- Securing a Grant of Letters of Administration and administering an estate for the benefit of a minor, assisting with creating a Settlement for the benefit of a minor and advising the Trustees in relation to the administration of the Settlement
- Obtaining a Grant of Probate to a high value estate where it was necessary to analyse interests in earlier estates in order to claim the maximum amount of Inheritance Tax reliefs possible
- Advising the Trustees of a small local charity with balancing the interests of their charitable work with their family and preparing Wills accordingly
- Advising Trustees of a Charitable Trust on winding up the Trust and appointing the substantial assets to a number of educations institutions
- Working with genaeologists on locating the beneficiaries of an intestate estate and applying for a specialist Grant to enable an application to rectify the title to the deceased’s property
