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Emma Saunders


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Solicitor
+44 (0)20 8394 6571
Emma.Saunders@russell-cooke.co.uk
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Emma is an Associate solicitor in the Trust and Estate Disputes team, where she acts for both claimants and defendants in relation to a wide range of disputes, including:

  • Claims pursuant to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (often referred to as Family Provision claims)
  • Will challenges
  • Executor disputes
  • Trust claims
  • Statutory will applications
  • Attorney disputes and other Court of Protection matters.

Emma trained at Russell-Cooke and joined the Trust and Estate Disputes team in September 2011.

  • Achieving a settlement of approximately half the net estate for a client who had not received reasonable financial provision under her brother's will. The client was the deceased's sole surviving relative. This claim also involved concerns in relation to the deceased's testamentary capacity and whether the deceased had understood the nature of the discretionary trust established under the will.
  • Representing the beneficiaries of an estate in defence of a claim brought by the deceased's partner, pursuant to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, and achieving an out-of-court settlement favourable to the estate.
  • Representing a client in the Court of Protection who was objecting to the registration of an Enduring Power of Attorney which appointed his brother as his father's attorney.
  • Advising a client in relation to her claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 in respect of her late partner's estate, which included assets in England and France. Our client had cohabited with the deceased for over 15 years; however the deceased died without a will and had remained married to his wife, who on the intestacy would receive the whole estate.
  • Negotiating a settlement for an elderly client whose long-term partner, with whom he lived, died leaving her estate on a discretionary trust, which did not provide for the client sufficiently.
  • Recovering a sum due to a client under her father's will from her sibling, who was the executor and who had distributed the estate without reference to the will.
  • Obtaining recognition of a client's interest in a property which a relative had attempted to pass under her will, despite the fact that the relative's interest ended on her death.

Emma studied at Newcastle University and completed her legal studies at Northumbria University, where she was awarded a Distinction in the Graduate Diploma in Law. Emma then graduated with Distinction in the Legal Practice Course where she was awarded the Ward Hadaway prize for achieving the highest mark in the Employment elective.