Sophia Rogers

Call: 2013

Barrister

Sophia has a busy chancery practice and is an experienced advocate in the High Court, County Court and at appellate hearings. She is regularly instructed in contentious and non-contentious private client, insolvency, commercial, professional negligence and property cases. Having spent time on secondment in the Channel Islands and the Cayman Islands focusing on private client, Sophia is also experienced in offshore trust matters.

PRIVATE CLIENT

Sophia handles a wide variety of private client matters and, following secondments in the Channel Islands and Caribbean, has experience in offshore work.

She has significant experience of trust cases including variations, anonymity in trust and estates claims, claims against trustees such as removal and breach of trust claims, Public Trustee v Cooper applications, invalid appointment of trustees, indemnities, amendments, changes of proper law and dealing with offshore firewalls.

She is regularly instructed in cases involving wills and estates including cases regarding testamentary capacity, knowledge and approval, undue influence, forgery, formal validity, construction and rectification of wills, foreign property, approval of settlements, will variations and claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.

Her recent work includes:

Re H (Deceased) [2020] EWHC 1134 (Fam) – Representing the adult child claimant in a successful claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act. The claim featured issues of estrangement and mental health. Notably, the court awarded a contribution towards the claimant’s CFA uplift as part of the award
MN v OP [2019] EWCA Civ 679 – Represented the appellant (led by Robert Pearce QC) in a successful appeal to the Court of Appeal of a first instance decision refusing an anonymity order in a high-value application under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958
Re Forged Will (2018-2020) – Acting for the defendants in a high value probate claim, challenging the validity of a will on the grounds of forgery, lack of due execution and want of knowledge and approval
Stephens v Heng & Ors (2018) – Represented a minor and unborn beneficiaries in a construction and rectification claim to include the deceased’s sisters as beneficiaries under a will and include the deceased’s step-children in the definition of the term “issue”
Sinden v Sinden (2018) – Acted for the defendants to an Inheritance Act 1975 claim brought by their sibling. Adult child claim in respect of a high-value estate
Jabin v Iqbal (2016) – Acted for the claimant in a three-day trial of a TOLATA and 1975 Act claim brought by an adult daughter, with issues including interests in foreign property in Pakistan
Mahoney v Andrews (2015) – Represented the claimant in this probate claim raising issues of knowledge and approval and domicile where the deceased lived in France and, upon settlement, appeared at the application for approval of the settlement on behalf of a minor involving a will variation
Re Smith (Deceased) [2014] EWHC 3926 (Ch) – Assisted during pupillage with the trial of a presumed undue influence case which considered the test for capacity to make an inter vivos gift
Re Walker Deceased [2014] EWHC 71 – Assisted during pupillage with a probate case concerning testamentary capacity and knowledge and approval in circumstances where the deceased had suffered a fatal brain tumour and psychosis, and established that the correct test for testamentary capacity is the test set out in Banks v Goodfellow
Loring v The Woodland Trust [2013] EWHC 4400 (Ch) and [2014] EWCA Civ 1314 – Assisted during pupillage with the trial and appeal of a will construction claim addressing the impact of section 8A of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 on the passing of nil rate bands under a will.