Rachel Mayston | Trusts and Tax Planning | Thomson Snell & Passmore
Rachel Mayston, Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP
Associate, Trusts and Tax Planning
About Rachel
I qualified as a solicitor in September 2018 and joined Thomson Snell & Passmore at the same time, becoming a member of the firm’s specialist Wills, Estate and Tax Planning team. I subsequently qualified as a Trust and Estate Practitioner with STEP, the leading global professional body for experts in inheritance, trusts, and succession planning.
My practice focuses on helping high-net-worth individuals and families navigate the preservation and responsible transfer of family wealth. Many of my clients wish to ensure long-term asset protection across generations; my work therefore includes advising on structures that support their long term wishes, minimise inheritance tax and safeguard assets for future generations.
A key part of my work involves advising blended families or single women who want to ensure they, their finances and their children are properly protected. As such, I advise on complex will structures to meet the family needs, inheritance and capital gains tax issues, and the establishment and governance of trusts and family investment companies.
What services do you provide?
Many of my clients are living in blended families or are separated or divorced. The estate planning structure I put in place will depend on the personal circumstances of the clients. In a blended family (for example, a second marriage where each spouse has children from a previous relationship) we may prepare wills which include trusts to ensure the estates of the spouses pass to the survivor of them in a tax efficient manner but remain safeguarded for their own children. Working as part of a full service firm means, in addition to my own advice, I can draw on the advice of experts In other fields and work with the client to make a holistic and sophisticated estate plan.
- Drafting tailored wills and deeds to implement clients' estate planning objectives;
- Succession and inheritance tax;
- Structuring and advising on trusts and family investment companies;
- Advising on philanthropic activities and establishing grant making charities; and
- Advising on capital gains tax matters.
Case Study
I recently advised a client on the transfer of property to an adult child. The property had significantly increased in value and an outright gift of the property would have created a large taxable gain. Instead, we created a trust and the client settled the property into trust, holding over the capital gain (so the trustees took the property at the client's base value). The client may manage the property within the trust as a trustee, keeping control over the property, or the client may instead appoint the property out of the trust, to their child, holding over the gain again. If the client survives the gift to trust by 7 years there will be no inheritance tax or capital gains tax to pay by the client or their estate.
What does Dura mean to you?
I value the Dura Society's commitment to cultivating a holistic space where wealth meets well-being. I believe in advising in a way that embraces not just estate planning outcomes, but also personal values, family dynamics, and emotional legacy. The Dura Society’s curated community, its educational resources, and its emphasis on meaningful connections among advisors and high-net-worth individuals resonate strongly with my approach: helping clients flourish in every dimension of their lives, not just their balance sheets.
I’m excited about the opportunity to contribute to a community that values both individual growth and collective impact. By being part of The Dura Society, I hope to share my experience and insights, while also learning from others who bring diverse skills and perspectives. I believe that collaboration among such a talented group of people can create transformative results, and I look forward to being a part of that shared growth and success.
Contact
01892 701325
