Private Client team
Charlotte Crawford
Charlotte has been Head of our Private Client team for some years, overseeing its growth from 4 fee earners, to one of the largest Private Client teams in Manchester with 8 solicitors and 10 fee earners in total. Charlotte has a national reputation for the quality and efficiency of her work and has been a member of the Law Society’s Private Client Committee since 2017. Charlotte is also a full accredited member of The Association of Lifetime Lawyers (formerly Solicitors for the Elderly).
Charlotte advises clients on wills and future planning which includes advice on the use of trusts, particularly if the client has concerns about protection of their assets or wishes to provide for someone who may be disabled or unable to manage their own affairs.
Charlotte also assists personal representatives and executors in the administration of estates. She is known for her sympathetic approach and works with clients in difficult circumstances to ensure that the administration process is as easy for them as possible.
She also specialises in the creation and administration of trusts, particularly family and PI trusts; this might include advising trustees on their duties and the powers available to them, assisting them to comply with increasing regulatory requirements or completing tax returns and trust accounts.
Expertise:
Trusts: Charlotte is a Director of the Hugh Jones Trust Corporation which acts as corporate trustee on an increasing number of family trusts and personal injury trusts (with awards of circa £2-£3m). She is well respected in this field and is frequently referred work by other law firms. Charlotte provides trust advice on the validity of trusts, administration of complex trusts, compliance with regulatory requirements and prepares trust tax returns and annual trust accounts.
Wills: She has many years of experience in wills with a particular focus on clients with vulnerable family members. Her client-focused approach and sound technical knowledge enables her to find solutions for her clients. She also empowers deputyship clients to make wills where they have testamentary capacity.
Probate: She is known for her expertise and sympathetic approach in this area to ensure the administration of estates is as smooth for clients as possible and administers estates worth £50k to £multi-millions.
https://www.hughjonessolicitors.co.uk/people/directors/charlotte-crawford/
Dale Shimwell
Dale is a solicitor and qualified in 2012, and a Director in our Private Client team. Before joining us, Dale was a Director at a well-known Lancashire firm, where he oversaw the Private Client and Property teams.
He has a great deal of experience in the full spectrum of Private Client work including high value probate work, wills, including life interest trusts, flexible life interest trusts for higher net worth clients and discretionary trusts, LPAs and Court of Protection.
He has dealt with the administration of a range of estates ranging from low value up to higher value of more than £2 million, including assets abroad.
Fiona Ludkin
Fiona is a Senior Associate Solicitor with years of experience in all aspects of private client work. In addition to her private client work she has used her knowledge together with her understanding of mental capacity to support both lay and professional deputies, helping them make applications to the Court of Protection authorising the creation of Statutory Wills for clients that lack the capacity required to make their own Will.
Private Client Work
Fiona is a fully qualified TEP practitioner and a current member of the Society for Estate and Trustee Practitioners, which is an international professional body for advisers who specialise, is inheritance and succession planning. She has a detailed understanding of Trust and Estate work. Her main areas of work are;
- Estate administration; which can just be applying for the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration or assisting with the full administration and or attending to large taxable estates.
- Future planning, which include the drafting of Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney and Advanced Decisions.
- Trust work; whether it be providing advice about entitlements under pre-existing trusts, setting up trusts (such as personal injury trusts, disabled person trust or discretionary trusts) or supporting with the administration of trusts.
- Statutory Wills, Codicils and gift applications on behalf of Deputies.
As a member of the Hugh Jones team, she also acts for Deputyship clients. While they may not have capacity to manage their property and finances this does not necessarily mean that they can make decisions effecting the distribution of their estate when they pass away and Fiona is very happy to support these clients and help them demonstrate that they do have the capacity required to decide what they want to happen to their funds on their death (known as ‘testamentary capacity’).
Fiona said
“I particularly enjoy empowering our deputyship clients, while they may have suffered brain injuries and as a result need additional support in some areas of their life this does not mean that every decision has to be made for them and often they do have the capacity to take control of what should happen to their funds when they pass away.
It’s incredibly rewarding to help them consider this decision and it often gives these clients a tremendous sense of control and satisfaction to be able to make a Will setting out who should benefit from their money following their death. It’s also lovely to see a number of these client’s reflect on who has been able to help and support them during their lifetime and see them reflect this in their Wills, whether it be to family members, charities or support groups.”
Over the years Fiona has been able to support many of our deputyship clients; she builds rapport easily and is very experienced at making sure she is liaising with people at a level that they understand, to help them appreciate some of the complexities of putting a Will in place.
Supporting Lay and Professional Deputies
Fiona has been instructed by many lay and professional deputies to support them in making sometime complex Statutory Will applications to the Court of Protection. She has worked closely with the Official Solicitor to reach amicable conclusions and on occasion has also been recommend by them.
Supporting the Community
Fiona is involved in various groups that support various facets of the community; she works with groups supporting carers that look after people with complex needs she also works with groups that support the elderly and children and adults with learning difficulties. She regularly attends and gives talks in the community to both health providers and care homes.
She enjoys working the community and is often invited to give talks to groups on specialised Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney and Deputyships.
Holly Simpson
Holly is an Associate Solicitor in our Private Client team and joined us in August 2024 having qualified in August 2012. Holly assists clients in a wide range of matters including drafting Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney, the administration of estates and lifetime planning.
Holly enjoys building relationships with clients and assisting them in what can sometimes be a difficult period in their lives.
Prior to joining Hugh Jones, Holly worked at a firm in Bury where she qualified and remained at for 14 years. During this time she gained valuable experience in all aspects of private client work
Samantha Brocklehurst
Samantha is an Associate Solicitor who joined us in September 2020.
Samantha assists clients in a wide range of matters, including probate, lifetime planning and trust administration. She enjoys working closely with clients to find the best solutions to their requirements based on their individual circumstances.
Prior to joining Hugh Jones Solicitors Samantha worked at a firm in the East Midlands where she qualified in 2015 and gained valuable experience working on private client matters, assisting clients with Court of Protection applications and managing vulnerable clients’ affairs
Lashay Williams
Lashay Williams is an Associate Solicitor specialising in Private Client work. Lashay qualified as a solicitor in 2022 after joining the private client team as a Paralegal. Lashay is an Affiliate member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (‘STEP’) and is working towards becoming a fully qualified STEP member.
Lashay has over 5 years' experience in Private Client work including:
Preparation of simple and complex Wills (including Wills with Trusts)
Administering the estate and affairs of those who have lost loved ones (including estates with numerous overseas beneficiaries);
Preparation of Lasting Powers of Attorney;
Preparation of Trust Deeds, including personal injury trusts and disabled person’s trust;
Arranging Trust registration; and
Trust administration work, including preparation of any tax returns and trust accounts, correspondence with the trustees and beneficiaries and meetings with financial advisors in relation to proper investment of the trust funds.
Lashay enjoys working closely with clients to find the best solutions to their requirements based on their individual circumstances.
Emma Hanvere
Emma is a solicitor in our Private Client team, having qualified in November 2021 and joined us in 2022.
Emma has four years’ of Private Client experience before joining us, as a paralegal, trainee solicitor and solicitor in a Tax, Trusts and Estates team. In this time she gained experience of:
Wills, Estates, Power of Attorney and Court of Protection deputyship work
Working with vulnerable and elderly clients
Trust based Wills, Powers of Attorney, Court of Protection applications and accounts relating to estate or deputyships
Dealing with Probate Applications and Estates administration
Declarations of Trust, Trust Documents and Loan Documents
Team Services
We offer a personal and responsive service, whether you want to make a make a will, need personal tax planning advice or arrange a lasting power of attorney. Our award winning team has extensive experience of obtaining probate and administering estates as well as all aspects of trust management and includes 9 solicitors. 7 solicitors in the firm are STEP qualified.
Our team is in the Top Tier of firms in the Northwest in the Legal 500 2025, in the Personal Tax, Trust and Probate category:
‘Very helpful and knowledgeable team. A client-focused practice that strives to deliver a faultless service. Great with clients. Good with advice on wills, probate and Court of Protection issues.'
October 2024, the team were delighted to win the British Wills and Probate Awards category for Private Client Firm of the year - Boutique and have been shortlisted in May 2025, for the Manchester Legal Awards Private Client team of the year.