Spear’s Review

‘Very lively, very busy,’ is how Farrer & Co’s Jeremy Gordon describes his work, citing an increase in will disputes and inheritance tax claims. ‘People prepare wills and trusts they expect to stand up to scrutiny. Sometimes human nature intervenes – families falling out, allegations of undue influence and, more and more, capacity issues,’ he says. 

Such cases reflect an ageing population, and the ageing process itself. ‘It’s a slow and uneven process, and the law doesn’t really deal with that grey area when people become vulnerable and suggestible,’ Gordon says. In such instances, undue influence can arise – though the law sets a high bar for that. ‘It’s difficult when advising,’ he acknowledges.

Adviser Profile

Jeremy is a partner in the contentious trusts and estates team and the firm’s senior partner. He has been involved in some of the highest-profile trusts disputes of recent years, and has worked in most of the leading trust jurisdictions, onshore and offshore. 

Jeremy has over 25 years’ experience handling contentious trusts and estates cases in their many different guises, advising trustees, executors, beneficiaries and protectors on the wide range of issues they give rise to, with much of his work having an international dimension. 

Although some cases unavoidably end up in Court, he strives wherever possible to secure the resolution of trusts and estates disputes by alternative means. 

He is a CEDR accredited mediator.