Spear’s Review

A partner at Boodle Hatfield, Natasha Hassall specialises in looking after families that own both rural and urban estates.

‘A lot of them are still quite focused on primogeniture [passing on assets to the firstborn child], which has worked very well for lots of families in this country,’ she says when asked about common themes in her work. ‘But that comes with a lot of challenges as well, in terms of how you treat children fairly, what provision is made for the non-heirs and what that all looks like.’

Although the trend has come under challenge by those seeking full equality, she said the status quo is more likely to remain than not. ‘I don’t see many people who are keen on the idea of splitting everything equally, because they know that at the end of it, when you’ve got people pulling in different directions, you can’t really hold it together.’ 

In addition to estate planning, Hassall also has a specialism in tax advice in relation to art.