Jonathan Hickman > Ashfords LLP > Exeter, England > Lawyer Profile

Jonathan Hickman

+44 (0)1392 333867 j.hickman@ashfords.co.uk

Work Department

Trust and Estates

Position

Senior Associate

Career

Jonathan is an SRA Regulated Associate in the Trusts and Estates Team specialising in agricultural property work. Jonathan has been qualified for 7 years.

He advises clients on a wide range of private client matters including powers of attorney, deputyship applications, wills, estate administration and trust creation and administration. Jonathan also prepares deeds of variation and declarations of trust in respect of the joint ownership of property. Jonathan also undertakes various agricultural property work.

Jonathan is a Fellow of the Agricultural Law Association and specialises in advising farming and landed individuals in matters of estate planning and estate administration, which often involves Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax considerations and making claims for Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief.

Jonathan also deals with various agricultural property based matters including complex transfers that involve requiring rights to be granted and reserved simultaneously with the transfer, agricultural tenancies under both the old Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 and the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995, as well as grazing agreements and profits a prendre. The work encompasses most aspects involved with such tenancies but, in particular, the drafting of new leases for both long and short terms, advising on current leases, dealing with notice provisions and the drafting of deeds of surrender. Jonathan also advises clients in respect of deeds of grant, the variation of easements and covenants, shooting leases and large scale first registrations. In respect of transfers of land Jonathan will act for both vendors and purchasers. In the vast majority of cases relating to farm tenancies he acts for landowners, however, he also advises developers on security of tenure issues and notice provisions within tenancies in respect of obtaining vacant possession of land.

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

• Private client: Advising on Estate Administration to successfully claim Agricultural Property Relief and the preparation of a complex Deed of Variation as part of the family’s ongoing Inheritance Tax planning.
• Private client: Advising on Estate Administration including successfully claiming Agricultural Property Relief and on the subsequent sale of the farm advising on mitigating Capital Gains Tax liability for the beneficiaries and preparing Deeds of Appropriation.
• Landowner: Acting for a landowner in granting two Farm Business Tenancies simultaneously with different notice provisions so as to cater for option agreements relating to residential development over the land.
• Landlord: Advising a landlord client in respect of an Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 Tenancy and the necessary steps and procedure in order to obtain vacant possession.
• Private client: Acting for a farming family in a complex division of parts of the farm including land and buildings between the family for tax planning purposes, which included granting and reserving suitable rights.