Deborah Nicholls-Carr

In Lorenz v Caruana [2025], Deborah, Paul Hewitt and Rosalind Russell act for Robert Lorenz in seeking a declaration that the Defendant holds half of the late Alan Lorenz's estate on a secret trust for Alan's siblings.  In June 2024 a High Court Judge had overturned an earlier decision that Robert's claim should proceed to trial.  

The Court of Appeal has reinstated the original decision holding that there is a real prospect of further evidence being available to support the contention that there is a secret trust, thus enabling Robert to ensure the Defendant is cross-examined.  See the Court of Appeal's decision here.

In FL v MJL Deborah, Stephen Richards, Julia Abrey and Richard Walker acted for the Deputy in an application to the Court of Protection to make gifts totalling £17 million to family members and charities from the funds of an incapacitated person. This was a significant and novel case which clarified the law on the authorisation of gifts for tax planning. Click here to read the judgment.

Deborah and Stephen Richards acted for the applicant in a Court of Protection matter, successfully securing the removal of a joint attorney for property and financial affairs of an elderly person where there were concerns were raised over his suitability by neighbours and friends.

Deborah and Steven Kempster brought the highest value Inheritance Act claim to date in Wooldridge v Wooldridge (2016). We were acting for a widow who sought to increase provision under her husband's will after his death in a tragic helicopter accident.

In Bond v Webster and others [2024], Debbie, Paul Hewitt, Olivia Turner and Alexandra Dix acted for Lindsay and Mike Bond, the successful parties in a will dispute that led to one of the longest probate trials to take place in the High Court.  Their father, Reg Bond, a self-made multimillionaire who built up one of the UK's most valuable tyre wholesale businesses, had a longstanding intention to treat all four children equally. However, the Judge found (after hearing 12 days of evidence from 22 witnesses) that not long before Reg passed away, a secret plan had been hatched by those around him to exclude Lindsay and Mike at a time by which he no longer had the necessary capacity (and the suspicious circumstances meant in any event that he could not be satisfied that Reg had the necessary knowledge and approval) to make a will.  Click here to read our summary and here to read the judgment.

In Griffin v Higgs and Others, Deborah and Steve Kempster acted for the beneficiaries of an estate in proceedings that went to the Court of Appeal in England on the issue of removing executors of a Will and on the costs of the dispute; reported as (2018)

Deborah and Paul Hewitt acted for the respondent in an urgent contested statutory will application in the Court of Protection in relation to an estate of approximately £3.5 million. The application was made on 4 April 2019 and the statutory will was approved by the Court on 30 May 2019.

Deborah and Paul Hewitt represented Prince Mukarram Jah, His Exalted Highness Nizam VIII of Hyderabad, in a dispute over funds frozen at Natwest Bank for over 70 years (the subject of a 1958 House of Lords decision Rahimtoola v Nizam of Hyderabad), involving the governments of India and Pakistan. Pakistan issued a new claim in 2013. The High Court decided in Pakistan v Natwest and Ors [2015] EWHC 55 (Ch) that the Nizam's claim to the funds should be allowed to proceed. The Judge upheld the Nizam's claim (along with those of his younger brother and India) to his grandfather's funds. Read the Judgment of The High Commissioner for Pakistan in the UK v Prince Muffakham Jah & Others [2019] EWHC 2551 here. The case was one of The Lawyer's ‘Top 20 Cases of 2019'.