Family business giving

The Association of NHS Charities is the voice of NHS Charities through England and Wales, and works to represent and support the interests of these organisations as well as offering a network of support. Withers acted on the Association's behalf in preparing the Department of Health's guidance for the deregulation of NHS Charities.

Withers has had a long and very successful relationship with the armed forces charity SSAFA and we have acted for them on many issues over the years. We are immensely proud of our continued association with this worthwhile organization. Our team was on hand to advise when the charity went through a redundancy exercise and TUPE transfer in Germany. We successfully negotiated when two senior executive roles were terminated, alongside more junior members of staff, one of whom brought a disability discrimination claim. In another notable instance, we advised an Employment Tribunal in the UK over whether the charity could be held liable for an allegedly discriminatory decision taken by the MOD. We secured a ruling in our client's favour.

Advising several large, well-known, UK charities in relation to their pension obligations, including in the context on a transfer of former public sector employees under a business sale, and in another case, how a regional branch office might manage its risks and liabilities in relation to a final salary pension scheme in which it participated for non-associated employers in the voluntary sector.

Advised a large charity-sector master trust pension trustee on ways in which it could adapt and improve its business model in light of changes in the pensions legal and regulatory arenas, as well as changes in the requirements of, and challenges faced by, charitable employers.

We advised a Middle Eastern family who were actively engaged in philanthropic activities around the world. We created a Jersey based charitable foundation to focus the families's activities.

Assisted a well-known international sportsman with the creation of an Italian charity to support philanthropic projects and fundraising events in Italy.

Represented an order of Roman Catholic nuns wishing to use their real estate, a five acre, 100+ year old legacy garden, for philanthropic purposes and in accordance with the charism of their order. We arranged for the garden to be owned by an independent nonprofit corporation qualified under the IRC as a private operating foundation, with directors appointed from the community and a permanent supporting endowment. The garden will be used for contemplative and meditative exercise.

Assisted an ultra high net worth individual with his charitable endeavors and continued support of research at an elite education institution.  We worked with the individual to establish a non-grantor charitable lead annuity trust, a technique that also incorporated beneficial tax planning for our client.

Creation and ongoing representation of charitable and non-profit entities, including public charities, private foundations, and charitable trusts (charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts).

We represented the charities who successfully argued that English law governs the validity of a will dealing with English immovable property (the first judicial approval of the rule in Dicey). The court also held that England rather than Alabama is the appropriate forum for the dispute, despite the testatrix's nephew, Mr Clark, having obtained letters of administration in Jefferson County, Alabama