Individual Matters Summer 2022

Welcome to the latest edition of Individual Matters where you will find a wide-ranging mix of articles from our private wealth, charities, private real estate, matrimonial and disputes teams.

Just as we thought the world was beginning to emerge from 24 extraordinary months of pandemic lockdown the pictures filling our screens are the images of appalling human suffering arising from the Ukraine conflict and the largest refugee migration in Europe since 1945 and with a consequent grain export crisis affecting many countries’ food security and threatening famine. This requires from us all our urgent charitable response and affects clients, friends and family. We continue to live in uncertain times. Life has not stood still at BDB Pitmans over these difficult months and the BDB Pitmans’ family is growing: in August 2022 we completed our merger with Portrait Solicitors. Portrait Solicitors was founded in 1995 as a City law firm focussed on servicing the needs of private clients and quickly established a reputation as a discrete niche private client practice, a reputation which it continues to hold. Dominic Flynn provides a fuller history of the firm and an introduction to the team.

Although our daily lives have been greatly changed during the pandemic there are still constants. An overriding concern for most of us is the protection of family and managing risk. Putting in place a plan for dealing with your estate can provide much needed calm. Evolving technology and social developments continue apace raising new issues for individuals, trustees and businesses to deal with. Cryptocurrency is gaining traction and taxing authorities around the globe are considering how these and other cryptoassets should be taxed and regulated. Our lives are increasingly spent online, and tax and other reporting obligations are also moving in a digital direction. The rising trend towards ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) investing is impacting on how individuals view their portfolios and it is something which trustees may also have to consider. Like many businesses, BDB Pitmans is looking at its own ESG credentials and here you will find an infographic setting out the steps we have taken so far.

To preserve the ‘shelf life’ of this edition we have deliberately not reflected on what the future may hold in terms of significant changes to the UK tax regime, whatever the outcome of a change in Prime Minster. It is probably safe to say that there will be new taxes, and developments to existing ones, to navigate in the coming months as the government looks to replenish the coffers which have been depleted in fighting the pandemic. The team is here to assist with any planning challenges and practical implications that might arise.

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