Belinda Watson

Belinda Watson is a partner in the Farms & Estates team of our private client department. Belinda trained in London and spent her first ten years as a qualified solicitor at Frere Cholmeley Bischoff, now Forsters. After a career break of ten years, following a family move to Dorset to bring up her two daughters, Belinda has been with Wilsons since May 2007. She specialises in providing strategic advice on all areas of wealth preservation and succession planning, typically to the owners of landed estates, large farms, family businesses and heritage chattels and properties. This involves advising on wills and trusts, lifetime giving, partnerships and the application of inheritance tax exemptions and reliefs (such as agricultural or business property, heritage property and maintenance funds).  Belinda represents clients from a wide geographical area across the country including the south coast, Yorkshire, Cumbria and Shropshire.

Recent highlights

• Helping owners of landed estates, heritage chattels and properties plan for and manage their handover to the next generation, in close collaboration with their other advisers and with family members;
• Applying to vary and extend long-standing family settlements;
• Advising trustees of settlements which are still governed by the Settled Land Act 1925;
• Advising farmers about succession planning, focussing on their farm partnership and wills.

Belinda is a member of STEP, the Heritage Lawyers Group, the CLA and the Historic Houses Association. During her career break Belinda was able to participate and take an active part in organising country sports in Dorset, and in her free time she enjoys horse riding, sailing and opera.