Paul Hewitt
Partner
Paul is a partner in the trust, estate and inheritance disputes team.
Top ranked in the directories, Paul is described as a ‘star litigator’ and ‘a formidable opponent’; as well as listed in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 2020.
Paul specialises in all types of trust and probate disputes. This includes claims about the validity, construction and rectification of wills and trusts, Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claims, removal of executors and trustees, and contentious estate and trust administrations.
The Court has appointed him administrator in a number of contentious estates. A barrister interviewed by the leading independent legal directories commented: ‘if I were a client with a contentious trusts or probate claim, I would, without hesitation, go to Paul’.
Paul also advises on contentious Court of Protection matters, both financial, and health and welfare, involving those unable to manage their own affairs. These include statutory will applications and disputes over the appointment or conduct of attorneys and deputies. Occasionally he acts as a ‘litigation friend’.
He also advises on professional negligence claims arising out of trust and estate administration, and failed estate and tax planning.
Paul Hewitt enjoys an excellent reputation for his work on complex private client disputes. "There is a uniquely commercial aspect to his work and he is exceptional at judging whether something is worth running," observes one source. Another comments: "He really knows what he’s doing and is absolutely determined to do the best with his clients."
The Lawyer says "There aren’t too many lawyers who can claim to have acted in a case spanning more than 70 years concerning two countries, a bank and a former state. However, that is precisely what Paul Hewitt did when representing the 8th Nizam in High Commissioner for Pakistan In the United Kingdom v Prince Muffakham Jah & Ors last year, a dispute linked to a £1m fee that eventually ballooned to £35m."
He heads the firm’s work for charities and not-for-profit organisations on legacy income with Stephen Richards.
往绩记录
执业资格
发表篇章
会员身份
公开活动
Paul and Deborah Nicholls-Carr represent 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 here. The case was one of The Lawyer’s ‘Top 20 Cases of 2019’.
Paul and Alexandra Dix act for Mrs Bhusate in her claim for financial provision from her late husband’s estate. In the particular circumstances (summarised in his judgment) Chief Master Marsh ordered that Mrs Bhusate should be allowed to bring her claim more than 25 years after her husband passed away (the previous record of just under six years was set in 1993). In January 2020 the High Court upheld Chief Master Marsh’s decision (the appeal judgment here) meaning Mrs Bhusate’s claim can now proceed. Click here to read our briefing note.
Paul and Sarah Aughwane represent Mrs Cowan in her claim for reasonable financial provision from the estate of her late husband. In July 2019 the Court of Appeal unanimously gave her permission to bring her claim notwithstanding it having been issued out of time. Here is a link to the Court of Appeal Judgment and to our article. Trial is due at the end of July 2020.
England and Wales, 1997
‘Inheritance Act Claims’, Law Society - second edition, co-author, 2017
‘UK Court of Appeal Rules British Tycoon’s Widow Can Bring Will Claim,’ WealthManagment.com, August 2019, quoted
‘Probate Disputes and Remedies’, Jordans third edition - March 2014, co-author
Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners
Law Society Private Client Section
Charity Law Association
International Association of Young Lawyers
Solicitors for the Elderly
Contentious Trust and Probate Ceremony - James v James - 8 February 2018
The Law Society Private Client Cross Border Conference 2016, Cross Border Contentious Probate
Law Society, Will drafting post Illot v Mitson - 9 October 2015
个人简介
I love the challenge of my specialist area
学历背景
语言
- English