Charlotte Howard Senior Counsel

Senior Counsel

DD +44 (0)20 7849 2641 T +44 (0)20 7831 9222 Email Charlotte Download vCard

Charlotte advises individuals, family offices and trust companies on a wide variety of trust, tax and international estate planning issues. Charlotte also has a particular interest in philanthropy and charity and is a member of the firm’s core charities team.

Charlotte began her career as a barrister at a leading Chancery chambers, which gives her particular experience in trust law and litigation. She draws on that experience to work with our private client litigation team on contentious and non-contentious trust, estate and charities litigation, such as variations of trust and cy-près applications.

Charlotte’s work often has an international focus, advising clients with links to multiple jurisdictions. This includes advising trustees of offshore trusts, advising individuals planning to come to the UK or leave the UK, and co-ordinating with international lawyers to prepare a comprehensive estate planning strategy for international individuals.

On the charity side, Charlotte advises philanthropists and charities on charity law and taxation, including advising on tax-efficient charitable giving, establishing new charities and ongoing governance of charities.

Charlotte was recently seconded to a leading law firm in Bermuda, where she advised on international estate planning, trust administration and cross-border charity issues. Charlotte also advised Bermudian trustees on high-profile trust litigation and administering the trust in the midst of contentious circumstances.

Charlotte was also included in the eprivateclient NextGen Leaders list in 2024.

Professional memberships

Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners
Charity Law Association
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple
Chancery Bar Association

Expertise

Recent work

Application to vary trust

Advising trustees on an application to court to vary the trust under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958, to ensure that the trust had modern flexible provisions.

Cy-près application

Advising trustees of a major charitable trust on an application to court for a cy-près scheme as the existing charitable purposes of the trust had failed.

Real estate tax advice

Advising a Swiss charity on the UK tax consequences of receiving and using UK property for their charitable purposes.

UK trust structuring

Advising trustees on the trust and tax issues in terminating and distributing a significant trust in contentious circumstances. The trust held a complex international corporate structure, which was liquidated as part of the termination.

Will dispute

Advising executors on settling a dispute about the proper construction of the deceased’s will, including advising on mitigating the potential tax consequences of the settlement.

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