Julie joined Russell-Cooke in 2020 from a major Surrey-based law firm where she headed the private wealth team.

She is a partner in the private client team. She advises on the full spectrum of private client matters including complex wills, estate planning, succession planning for business owners, domicile and cross-border issues for international clients, trusts and the administration of estates.

She has a long-standing interest representing international clients on cross-border issues.

She has a strong background in elderly client advice involving care home fee planning, lasting powers of attorney and court of protection applications.

She is a director of the Russell-Cooke Trust Company and trustee of the Russell-Cooke Benevolent Fund.

• Business Property Relief: advised clients on high-net-worth capital tax planning, including business tax planning succession maximising upon business property relief for inheritance tax purposes and ancillary advice on succession for business owners with interests in excess of £100 million. Advising in conjunction with corporate team on corporate papers, cross option agreement and life insurance provisions settled upon trust to support surviving business owners when exercising cross options to purchase deceased shareholder’s interest and financing this
• US and UK: advising US domicile clients on structuring purchase of UK property at £28 million subject to mortgage of £16 million. Structuring purchase to maximise upon UK inheritance tax exemptions, structuring of wills to benefit on the survivor’s death on co-ownership discount saving circa £1 million in IHT. Dealing with US accountant to ensure utilisation of reliefs both in the UK and US. Advising on federal and state level estate tax & UK/US Double Tax Treaty. Advising on UK wills to ensure any will trust does not put the US spouse exemption at risk
• Mixed-domicile: advising upon future UK refurbishment costs and an offshore bank account
• • Advice on client’s domicile position, effect on IHT and succession of assets, including foreign held property (Ukraine & Switzerland). Advising on potential significant inheritance tax on first death due to limited spouse exemption with a UK domiciled spouse and a non-UK domiciled spouse. Considering abandoning UK domicile or origin to utilise full spouse exemption so there is no UK IHT on first death and only UK assets are subject to UK IHT and not worldwide assets. Advised upon HMRC’s approach in domicile investigations and on private international rules relating to the succession of moveable and immoveable assets relying on domicile. Structuring UK estate planning through lifetime gifts to children of UK assets to mitigate UK IHT
  • Full review of conflicting accountancy advice from two accountants regarding clients abandoning UK domicile of origin and adopting Australian domiciles of choice. Advised on UK LPAs, wills and lifetime gifts. Formalising position regarding UK gifts and burden of UK IHT between clients’ estates and donees. Fully advised on domicile and UK IHT, interaction of Spanish assets and French assets with UK wills. Consideration of all exemptions and structuring UK businesses in consideration of business property relief
  • Counselled a mixed-domiciled couple on the implications of future claims by children and the use of no-contest clauses

• Passed the STEP Advanced Certificate in Family Business with distinction

• Recognised as a full STEP member
• Fully-accredited member of The Association of Lifetime Lawyers