Jessica Pointing

Jessica is a Solicitor in the Private Client team based in the firm’s Uckfield office. Jessica has experience in dealing with a wide range of private client matters and specialises in advising clients in relation to estate planning, Will preparation and Lasting Powers of Attorney.

Jessica’s clients

Jessica advises individuals, families, trustees, executors and beneficiaries. Her clients include high-net worth families seeking to preserve their wealth for future generations, couples who need to provide for a blended family, beneficiaries wishing to vary their inheritance under a will, and trustees requiring advice on trust administration.

Jessica advises clients on all aspects of estate planning. Her expertise ranges from advising on inheritance tax and capital gains tax to assist clients with preserving their personal wealth and providing for future generations, to advising beneficiaries who receive inheritances on their planning options which can include lifetime gifting and post death variations. She also advises on the creation and administration of trusts and the related tax issues.

Jessica is a full member of Solicitors for the Elderly and an affiliate member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Experience and approach

Jessica offers a pragmatic approach when advising her clients. She is always aware that clients are often seeking her assistance at a difficult period in their life and aims to put clients at ease throughout. She takes the time to fully understand a client’s situation and tailors her advice to their circumstances, providing clients with the information they need to fully understand and navigate their situation.

Areas of expertise

1. Estate planning, including inheritance tax planning and capital gains tax advice
2. The preparation of Wills
3. Trust advice, including the creation, administration and termination of trusts
4. Advising on Lasting Powers of Attorney

Some of Jessica’s work

Advising beneficiaries

Jessica provided a recently widowed client with tax planning advice following his wife’s death. This included the variation of his late wife’s Will to create a nil rate band discretionary trust in order to reduce the value of his estate to an amount which would enable the residence nil rate band to be claimed on his death, thereby reducing the inheritance tax payable on his estate.

Estate planning and creation of trusts

Jessica advised a wealthy couple in relation to mitigating their inheritance tax exposure. This advice included the creation of a trust to hold assets for the future benefit of their young grandchildren, as well as advice in relation to lifetime gifting and the rules around making gifts out of surplus income, and updating the clients’ Wills.

Jessica Pointing is an accredited member of The Association of Lifetime Lawyers, a national organisation that gives its members an in depth understanding of vulnerable and older clients, the key issues and barriers they may face, and how best to support and advise them.