Robin Lecoutre
Legal Director
London
Robin.Lecoutre@brownejacobson.com
+44 (0)330 045 2695
Robin is a legal director in the private client team, and is based in London. Robin is the head of the firm’s probate team, and he has extensive experience in assisting and advising clients about probate and the administration of deceased persons’ estates and the succession to their estates. He often deals with complex estates (including estates with overseas elements) and estates with complicated inheritance tax issues. Robin also has experience of preparing wills and trusts for clients. 
Robin is a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), the Law Society Private Client Section, and Solicitors for the Elderly (an independent national organisation of lawyers who provide specialist legal advice for older people). In 2014, Robin undertook the STEP Advanced Certificate in Will Preparation course and was one of the few students nationally to obtain a distinction. In 2016, Robin achieved his second STEP distinction in the Advanced Certificate in Advising Vulnerable Clients. In 2018, Robin achieved his third STEP distinction in the Advanced Certificate in Cross Border Estates.
Expertise
Featured experience
Discretionary will trusts
Experience of preparing wills for clients to create discretionary will trusts to receive business and agricultural assets and flexible life interest trusts for the remaining assets to enable the executors/trustees to look after the surviving spouse and children in a flexible and tax efficient way.
Offshore fraud and asset recovery
Advising the Personal Representatives of a large estate (in excess of £100m) involving offshore fraud and asset recovery.
Inheritance tax
Dealing with claims for exemption/relief from Inheritance Tax (‘IHT’) for: the transfer of IHT nil bands; claims for normal expenditure out of income; claims for conditional exemption from IHT for items of national heritage; offers in lieu of IHT for items of national heritage; claims for IHT Business Property Relief and IHT Agricultural Property Relief; claiming IHT loss on sale relief for sales of estate investments and estate land & property assets; IHT corrective figures; calculating and agreeing IHT liabilities with HMRC.
Deeds of Variation
Preparing Deeds of Variation to save UK Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax. Recent experience of preparing a Deed of Variation to save over £150,000 Inheritance Tax on the UK estate of a gentleman who died domiciled in Hong Kong.