Mr Jason Oliver > Paris Smith LLP > Winchester, England > Lawyer Profile

Paris Smith LLP
NINE PARCHMENT STREET
WINCHESTER
S023 8AT
England

Work Department

Dispute Resolution

Position

LLP Partner

Career

I have over 20 years post-qualification experience across a broad spectrum of contentious matters, and am a member of the Association of Contentious Trusts and Probate Specialists (“ACTAPS”).  My principal area of practice, which accounts for around 80% of my caseload, is contentious trusts and probate work, consisting of:

  • challenges to the validity of wills and codicils, including undue influence, issues relating to execution, testamentary capacity, lack of knowledge and approval, fraud;
  • proprietary estoppel claims;
  • Inheritance Act claims;
  • disputes between personal representatives;
  • maladministration (devastavit) by executors and administrators;
  • breach of duty by trustees and attorneys;
  • removal of executors and trustees;
  • caveats, warnings, appearances and citations;
  • donatio mortis causa; and
  • bona vacantia: challenging the entitlement of the Crown to intestate estates on behalf of intestacy beneficiaries located by genealogists.

I am regularly involved in applications to registrars and district judges as well as litigation in the High Court.

As well as my contentious trusts and probate work I regularly advise in matters such as:

  • adverse possession claims (“squatters’ rights”), and disputes relating to boundaries, easements and restrictive covenants: prescriptive easements; implied easements; challenging the enforceability of restrictive covenants.
  • insurance disputes: challenging underwriters’ decisions to avoid policies for material non-disclosure; policy interpretation; challenging limitations imposed on the extent of policy cover; complaints to Lloyd’s; complaints to Insurance Ombudsman; and
  • construction disputes: I have acted for clients in the Technology & Construction Court, the High Court and the Court of Appeal as well as adjudications, arbitrations and mediations.  Notable cases include the widely discussed Court of Appeal decisions in Rupert Morgan Building Services LLP Limited v Jervis and Woodlands Oak Limited v Conwell.

I am an Accredited Mediator and also admitted as a solicitor in the Republic of Ireland.

Lawyer Rankings

South East > Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate: Hampshire

Receiving instruction from landed estates, farmers, and entrepreneurs, Paris Smith LLP’s team is highly experienced in advising on tax-efficient wills and creating trusts in line with family investment companies. Within the department, there is a specialist Court of Protection and contentious probate section. Vicky Day leads the group from Southampton after arriving from Coffin Mew LLP in July 2022. Anthony Nixon is an expert in succession planning and associated tax issues, while Winchester-based Jason Oliver is highly knowledgeable in contentious trust and estate matters. William Hadley focuses on inheritance and capital gains tax planning.