Mark Baxter

Practice

Mark has a general Chancery practice and is available to accept instructions in all areas of work undertaken in Chambers, including:

• wills and probate
• estates and family provision
• trusts
• personal taxation
• Court of Protection work
• real property
• landlord and tenant
• related professional negligence

Notable Cases

Mark recently appeared in the case of Glass & Others v Segerman & Others [2008] WTLR 1615 (concerning rectification of a deed of gift in the context of related testamentary provision) and Ritchie & Others v Joslin & Others [2009] EWHC 709 (Ch) (where it was successfully argued that a testatrix’s delusions as to the character and conduct of her adult children amounted to a lack of testamentary capacity).

Advisory and Drafting Work

Mark's recent advisory and drafting work includes:

• advising and acting in the administration of a multi-million dollar multi-jurisdictional estate in relation to the recovery of estate assets and incapacity of the sole beneficiary, which included both property & affairs and personal welfare litigation in the Court of Protection.
• drafting English proceedings in relation to Swiss litigation to recover very high value art and antique estate assets, allegedly misappropriated by the deceased’s former attorney.
• drafting an application to the Court of Protection for approval of a deed of variation to take advantage of Inheritance Tax Business Property Relief.
• acting in various contentious probate and Inheritance Act matters.
• advising in a third party professional negligence claim regarding the settlement of a life policy for tax purposes.
• advising in the breach of restrictive leasehold covenants and the enforceability of rent review mechanisms.

Professional Memberships

Mark is a member of the Chancery Bar Association  and the Denning Society.

Publications and Lecturing

Mark contributed to the ‘Offshore Tax Planning Through Trusts’ chapter of the 2007-08 edition of Tax Planning – International and Specialist, and is co-author (with Martyn Frost and Penelope Reed QC) of Risk and Negligence in Wills, Estates and Trusts, published by OUP in March 2009. He also contributes regularly to professional journals.

Mark speaks regularly to solicitors, STEP branches, and professional conferences on all areas of his practice, particularly probate and tax matters.

Education

Mark read Law at the University of Bristol, graduating with First Class Honours and winning both the Herbert Smith Mooting Competition and the Maitland Essay Prize. Mark is a Hardwicke, Lord Denning, and Sunley Scholar of Lincoln’s Inn.