Helen Thompson

Biography

Helen has over 20 years of litigation experience and has specialised in contentious probate for over 8 years. Helen is a Full Member of the Association of Contentious Probate Solicitors (ACTAPS) and was noted in Chambers in 2010 for her “balance of toughness and charm” and in Legal 500 in 2015 as “one to watch.” Helen is also a trustee at St Ann’s Hospice.

Helen has acted for a wide range of clients; individual claimants and defendants, minors, personal representatives, trustees and beneficiaries, and charities to name but a few.

Helen has also been appointed to act for attorneys in contentious Court of Protection applications and has been appointed to act for a deceased’s estate under-representation order. Helen also advises on issues of domicile and the contentious aspects of foreign estates.

Helen heads up the Private Wealth Disputes team, which has again received the prestigious ranking of Band 2 in the Chambers and Partners High Net Worth Guide. Helen has also received an individual Band 2 ranking in the guide, with a source describing her as 'bright, friendly and highly knowledgeable. A joy to work with'. Another states 'Helen should be commended for building a really strong probate team. She works tirelessly for her clients and is incredibly good at what she does in what can be seen as a difficult sector'.

Helen is described in the Legal 500 as a "First-class litigator".

Before joining Myerson in 2016, Helen was a Partner at SAS Daniels, where she was responsible for the firms’ contentious trust and probate work.

Expertise and Past Cases

Helen advises on all aspects of contentious issues practice and procedure which includes; validity of Will disputes, claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, claims for and against personal representatives, construction claims, trust and estoppel claims.

Examples of Helen’s notable work include:

Obtaining a protective order for a Personal Representative to allow a distribution of estate funds to the deceased’s minor children and facilitating the creation of a subsequent trust to protect the children’s interests.

Successfully assisting an executor and beneficiary in the removal of a joint executor from their role in the administration of the deceased’s estate.

Advising a client following service of Court of Protection proceedings to restrain visits to patient’s nursing home. Effect of Court order devastating to both the client and to the patient who had lost the use of speech but still had capacity. Multi-party action in which numerous undertakings were sought, negotiated and given. Sadly the patient’s health deteriorated during this process. Client only able to see him in his final hours by breaching the undertaking with the parties consent.

Acting for executors and beneficiaries of the deceased’s estate of over two million pounds in the defence to a challenge brought by a family friend as to the validity of the deceased’s “home-made” Will. Successfully settled claim prior to issue of proceedings at mediation.

Acting for one of three Charities in the defence of the claim brought by the widower under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claim. Guiding the charity through the competing expectations of all parties to a substantial estate and asserting the benefits of alternative dispute resolution to explore and achieve a settlement that all could accept.