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Richard is a consultant in the trust, estate and inheritance disputes team.
He advises on domestic and international private wealth disputes (or on how to minimise the risk of these disputes arising).
He is recommended in the leading legal directories, previously described in one as "Super-bright and personable and deserves recognition as a partner of the future, one to watch".
The private wealth disputes on which Richard advises typically involve trusts, wills, probate and inheritance, legacies for charities, asset tracing, claims under England's Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, shared ownership, informal promises of property, the conduct of professional and non-professional trustees, executors, attorneys, deputies and litigation friends, and the English Court of Protection's supervision over the property and financial affairs or health and welfare of vulnerable adults.
Richard's work often has international elements, including connections to Scotland, Northern Ireland, Monaco, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, France, Spain, BVI, Belize, Nevis, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the US. He is experienced at project-managing and collaborating with local advisors. He has appellate court experience, including of the English Court of Appeal and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
He is co-author of the final chapter of the second and third editions of International Trust and Divorce Litigation and has spoken at conferences, including on English executors' responsibilities over foreign assets and the impact of human rights law on inheritance. Richard is also a member of ACTAPS.
Prior to Withers, Richard interned at the United Nations in Geneva, assisting with the periodic appraisal of member states by the Human Rights Council. He also worked as a Legal Advisor for a leading international commercial property developer, with particular responsibility for retail assets in England and Northern Ireland. Richard has also taught the law of trusts at King's College London, University College London and the School of Oriental and African Studies.
Me in a minute
I think deep down it is the sense of justice that motivates me in my work
I was always very creative as a child and had aspirations to be an author, recording artist, or the number 10 that the England football team still crave. However, my friends and family would probably say that my tenacity for playing Devil's Advocate means I'm well-suited to life as a dispute resolution lawyer.
I specialise in trust and inheritance disputes. I enjoy how technical it is practising in this field and am lucky to have had the privilege of teaching my specialism at London's leading universities. I am able to draw upon my academic knowledge of trusts to my clients' advantage.
I have fond memories of graduate life at University College London, where a group of friends and I set up a student-led human rights group which appraised the then Government's record on human rights, receiving national press coverage in the process. I think deep down it is this sense of justice that motivates me in my work.
I'm not sure my wife would always agree, but I'm told I also have a good sense of humour and tend to have a smile on my face.
Track record
£17m gifting application in the Court of Protection
In FL v MJL Richard, Stephen Richards, Deborah Nicholls-Carr, and Julia Abrey 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.
UHNW Lasting Power of Attorney and welfare dispute
Withers acted for the well-known businessman Gopichand Parmanand ('GP') Hinduja and his siblings in Court of Protection proceedings concerning the health, welfare, property and affairs of his brother, Srichand Parmanand Hinduja. It is believed to have been amongst the longest-running and most complex Court of Protection disputes, spanning over twenty hearings on a wide range of issues. In August 2022, Mr Justice Hayden delivered two judgments (here and here) lifting all reporting restrictions, but at the Court of Appeal GP argued successfully that some restrictions should remain in place to preserve his brother's privacy. The Withers team was led by Stephen Richards and included Natasha Stourton, Richard Walker, Alexandra Dix and Rosalind Russell. Read the Court of Appeal's judgment here.
Removal of executor
Assisted drafting Paul Hewitt's successful written submissions for the first defendant in In re Goodman decd, where Master Bragge agreed that an executor may be removed prior to his or her obtaining a grant of probate (subsequently affirmed on appeal to Newey J. and reported at [2013] 3 WLR 1551).
Restructure of NHS Charities
Assisted Alison Paines and Roger Waite with the restructuring of a number of NHS Charities.
Insight
External publications
'International enforcement issues relating to trusts', Chapter 9 of International Trust and Divorce Litigation, co-author
Admissions
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England and Wales, 2016
Education
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King's College London, LL.B. Law
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University College London, LL.M. Law
Memberships
- Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS)
Languages
- English
Key dates
- Year joined: 2014