Expert legal support for military personnel and their families

We’re experts in helping military personnel, veterans and their families with all their personal legal needs.

Throughout your life, you and your family will face a variety of legal needs, from proactive planning to
responding to unexpected changes.

Our team provides clear and straightforward advice for all of life’s events. Whether you’re planning for the future or dealing with a sudden change, we’re here to help. Our clients mean a lot to us, and we handle each case with care and sensitivity. When needed, we’re ready to take a tougher stance to protect your interests.

Supporting our armed forces

We believe in the importance of collaboration with support organisations within the military field. By working closely with groups like the ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, Forces in the Community, Walking with the Wounded, Annual Veteran Awards and Veteran Owned UK, we ensure that our services are comprehensive and aligned with the specific needs of the armed forces community.

Additionally, we are proud to support the Female Veteran Alliance. This partnership allows us to address the unique challenges faced by female veterans and provide them with the resources they need.

Recognised excellence

  • Market leading, award-winning Private Wealth team
  • Band 1 ranked for Private Wealth Law and Private Wealth Disputes in Chambers & Partners High Net Worth Guide
  • Tier 1 ranked for Private Wealth Law and Private Wealth Disputes in The Legal 500
  • Awarded Solicitor of the Year (National) in the British Wills and Probate Awards (2021, 2022, 2023)
  • Highly Commended in the ‘Estate Planning’ category at The WealthBriefing European Awards 2024
  • Ranked “recommended” or “top recommended” in the prestigious Spears Tax and Trust Indices
  • Members of ACTAPS (Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists)
  • Members of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners)
  • Armed Forces Covenant- Our firm is a proud signatory of this commitment and has received a Gold Award for our continued contributions to the armed forces community.


The Hugh James difference

We are a leading, full-service UK law firm. Since our beginning, we have been led by the things that matter. We care about fighting for the right outcomes. Solving the seemingly unsolvable. Protecting businesses, individuals and livelihoods. Supporting our people, our communities. Safeguarding our planet. Looking for a way forward?

At Hugh James, challenges – of all sizes – are readily accepted.

Get to know us

We are proud to have some of the UK’s leading lawyers in our team. Private equity firms, large national and international companies, banks, property, governments, personal injury… whatever your specific needs, we work very hard to add value as business partners, trusted advisors, mentors, supporters. We have been told it is our personal approach to client relationships that sets us apart. Sitting back doesn’t sit well with us. Let us know the legal support you require, and we are on it! With a handpicked, specialist, fully resourced, partner-led team.

We never shy away from a challenge

Our law firm has always been guided by the idea that self-belief is just as important as skillset. Our pursuit of righting wrongs and protecting what’s important keeps us driving forwards. It’s in our roots! We won’t stop until we find the answers; the outcomes that are needed.

We are focused on the work we do, the business we run, and our culture. Our entrepreneurial spirit has taken us from humble beginnings to a strong presence across the UK with offices in Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton and Plymouth – servicing clients from businesses, individuals and banks to public sector organisations, property companies, education establishments and utilities providers.


Wills and estate planning

If you’re in the Armed Forces or not, we’ll tell anyone who’ll listen how important it is to make a will.

With the support and guidance of our experts, we’ll help you put the right plans in place to protect what matters to you.

Visit our service page to find out more.

Whether you have a modest or complex estate, have family members that need protecting, or you want to pass your assets to a cause close to your heart, our team can help you and put the right legal protection in place.

Our services cater for individuals or couples looking
to plan together.

  • Do it yourself – Use our online will writing service to write your own will in your own time.
  • Questionnaire – Complete our comprehensive will writing questionnaire online at your own pace, with the option to save your progress and return later. Once finalised, we will write your will based on your answers.
  • Consultation – Arrange an appointment with our will writing team to discuss your will and we will write it for you. We offer video calls or face-to-face consultations in our Cardiff office.
  • Full estate planning service – A truly tailored service for complex estate planning

Whether you prefer a quick ‘do it yourself’ approach or a more bespoke consultation style, our will writing and estate planning options give you the flexibility to pick the one that works best for you.

Preferential rates

We offer preferential rates for military personnel, veterans, and their families. Please get in touch for more information.


Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA)

We believe everyone should have a Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA), but it’s especially crucial for military personnel. An overseas deployment could leave property and financial affairs neglected and there is the risk of losing mental capacity through injury.

An LPA allows an individual to choose someone they trust to make important decisions on their behalf, if they are ever in a position where they can’t do this for themselves.

Our team can help you put these LPAs in place and ensure you and your chosen attorneys know how it works. We’ll explain the ways attorneys might be authorised to make decisions so everyone feels comfortable with the process.

We’ll also help you if you ever wish to change the people you’ve chosen.

There are two types you need to consider.

This LPA covers decisions on living arrangements and medical care, including the decision to give or refuse life-sustaining treatment on their behalf.

This LPA only takes effect if it’s been registered correctly at the Office of Public Guardian and the individual has become mentally incapable of making their own decisions. We can help you put this in place.

This LPA allows the nominated person to make decisions on property and finances.

This LPA also needs to be correctly registered at the Office of Public Guardian but can be used if the individual still has mental capacity.

Find out more about our power of attorney solicitors

We know it can be difficult to choose a legal team to help you and your family through the challenges of critical care and end-of-life preparations. The confidence our clients have in our service is clear from our ‘Excellent’ rating on Trustpilot, reflecting our aim to go above and beyond your expectations at this time.

Call us on 029 2267 5980 or visit our service page and fill in an enquiry form if you have any further questions about how our Lasting Power of Attorney solicitors can help you.

Visit our power of attorney page

Probate and estate administration

Dealing with the death of a loved one or friend is a challenging and emotional time. We’ll work with you to make sure the process is as straight forward as possible.

We are one of the largest probate and estate administration teams in England and Wales and offer a national service to individuals and major high street banks.

Our team can support you to deal with a deceased person’s affairs.

You can expect a service from us that is handled with sensitivity and care. We will support you throughout the entire process, working with the Probate Registry and HM Revenue to ensure that assets are distributed correctly and as quickly as possible.

You also have the option of having our Trust Corporation act on your behalf and take care of the estate administration if you’d prefer.

If you only need to obtain a grant of representation, which gives you authority to administer a deceased person’s estate, we can help with that too.

Our team is well versed in handling:

  • Testate (where there is a valid will in place) and intestate (where there isn’t a valid will) estates;
  • Taxable and non-taxable estates;
  • Estates with business assets;
  • Estates with agricultural assets; and
  • Estates with overseas assets.

They are very focused as an organisation, they are very professional. I feel we are in good, safe, trusted hands.

Chambers & Partners UK


Trusts

Creating a trust is crucial for military personnel due to the unique challenges and risks associated with service.

A trust ensures that your assets and loved ones are protected, providing peace of mind in the event of deployment, injury or death.

We can guide you through all of the complexities regarding trusts, whether you are creating a trust or need support with an existing trust.

We specialise in all matters relating to the establishment, administration and taxation of trusts, offering straightforward and practical advice with sensitivity.

There are several things your trustee will need to do as part of their role, so we can give you guidance on selecting the right person to do this and also help them to fulfil their duties; making sure everyone is comfortable with the process.

We can also act as trustees through our Trust Corporation if you’d prefer a professional representative to manage your trusts.

We manage and prepare trusts for a range of clients, each with unique situations including:

  • Bare trusts;
  • Life interest in possession trusts;
  • Discretionary trusts;
  • Charitable trusts;
  • Property trusts;
  • Disabled beneficiary trusts; and
  • Personal injury trusts.

We can advise you on your options and which trust is best suited to your needs.

They are a very professional, deservedly reputed team, with a strong understanding of individual areas of law and great engagement with their clients.

Chambers & Partners


Private wealth disputes

Whether you’re facing a dispute about a will or inheritance, have concerns about the management of a trust or estate, or need to recover assets, we can help.

As one of the leading private wealth disputes teams in the UK, with over 75 years’ combined experience, our award-winning team of solicitors is on hand to guide you through whatever issue you might be facing.

Situations like this can be difficult and emotional but our team of experts is on hand to help you every step of the way. With clear, straightforward and robust advice, we’ll fight your corner to get you the best possible outcome.

Our specialisms include:

  • Will, probate and inheritance disputes;
  • Inheritance Act claims;
  • Trust disputes (onshore and offshore);
  • Funeral and burial disputes;
  • Trusts of Land and agricultural dispute claims;
  • Court of Protection, attorney and deputy disputes;
  • Cross-border estate disputes; and Cryptocurrency and asset recovery.

Hugh James are the pre-eminent estates and trusts dispute firm in the country. There are no close comparisons. They have the most specialists and their people are highly trained and capable.

The Legal 500


Family

Serving in the Armed Forces comes with unique circumstances that add complexity to the legal process. We understand these challenges and are here to support you with tailored legal advice and compassionate guidance at every step.

Navigating a marriage breakdown or separation is always challenging, and even more so when you or your partner has served in the military. However, it’s crucial to get the right legal advice to deal with these challenges effectively.

We’ll work closely with you to establish your goals in order to achieve the best outcome for you, looking at the whole picture.

Our team deals with matters in a sensitive, practical, and appropriate way. We will adopt a more robust approach to get the right result, if required.

We’re also able to offer you support with complex family matters where businesses, trusts or pensions need protecting.

We can support you with:

  • Divorce, dissolution of civil partnerships and separation;
  • Middle income and high net worth financial division on divorce or dissolution;
  • Children matters;
  • Prenuptial and Post Nuptial Agreements;
  • Cohabitation Agreements;
  • Separation Agreements;
  • Financial disputes between unmarried couples (Trust of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act disputes);
  • Disputes between parents and grandparents in relation to children or grandchildren including child arrangements and parental responsibility; and
  • Disputes between unmarried parents in relation to financial and property provision for children (Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989).

Preferential rates

We offer preferential rates for military personnel, veterans, and their families. Please get in touch for more information.


Nursing care fee recovery

Our Nursing Care department is renowned as the leading national experts in the recovery of wrongly paid care home fees.

If you or a relative are admitted to a nursing or care home due to physical or mental health needs, we can ensure the cost of the care is covered by the NHS Continuing Healthcare Fund, or refund any prior payments.

In recent years, we have recovered more than £200 million in wrongly paid care fees for families and individuals. We are experts, so you can be confident your claim is in the safest hands.

If the prime reason an individual is in a nursing or care home is due to their physical or mental health needs, the cost of their care should be covered by the NHS Continuing Healthcare funding scheme, regardless of the individual’s wealth.

With around 40% of Britain’s care home residents self-funding their care, thousands of families in England and Wales could be wrongly paying care fees.

If you or a relative are paying care home fees, you could be due a refund.

We are able to support our clients access NHS Continuing Healthcare funding even if they have not started paying for nursing care fees.

It is also possible to retrospectively claim back money paid on care home fees even if the individual who received the care has now passed away.

No obligation, free helpline

If you would like to discuss your options, we offer a free assessment to help you to decide whether to proceed with a case to reclaim wrongly paid care fees.


Court of Protection

We understand the unique challenges faced by military personnel and their families.

If you or someone you care for loses mental capacity, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.

Our team, one of the largest in England and Wales, manages the affairs of over 300 individuals as their deputy and serves as a professional trustee for nearly 100 others.

When an individual becomes incapacitated and unable to make their own decisions, families often struggle with how to proceed. Without a Lasting Power of Attorney in place, the path forward can be unclear.

We can help you or your family apply to the Court of Protection to become a deputy. If no suitable personal (lay) deputy is available, we can step in as a professional deputy, managing your accounts and ensuring your wellbeing.

Our expertise covers all types of Court of Protection applications. This includes appointing a family member as a property and financial affairs deputy, as well as making applications for statutory wills on behalf of individuals who lack the capacity to sign themselves.

Over the years, we have built strong relationships with our clients, allowing us to provide effective and cost-efficient support, tailored to each unique situation.

We advise our clients on:

  • Professional Deputyship services;
  • Lay Deputyship services;
  • Statutory wills;
  • Court of Protection disputes; and
  • Court of Protection Deputyship applications.

They are a great team. They are all easy to get hold of. Personally, I feel they have made life so much easier for my husband. There is always someone from the team at hand to chat to when needed.

The Legal 500


Hugh James Independent Financial Advisers

As well as our legal practice, Hugh James also has a team of independent financial advisers.

Our IFA team works closely with our legal experts to put in place that extra financial protection, should you need it.

Managing money and planning for the future can pose unique challenges for those in the military community. Mobility and deployments can hinder access to financial services, while the demands of service life leave little time for personal finance considerations. It’s common for armed forces personnel to transition out of service without a clear financial plan in place. That’s where our expert team of Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) steps in to help.

Our advice is backed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) but also the Solicitors Regulation Authority, (SRA). This dual regulation provides you with the confidence and peace of mind that your investments and savings are secure and well-managed.

We offer professional and personalised financial planning services designed specifically for current and former service members and their families. Our team also has a detailed understanding of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme on top of the unique challenges and opportunities faced by serving personnel.

Our areas of expertise include:

  • Investments and wealth management
  • Retirement planning
  • Inheritance tax planning
  • Protection planning

Hugh James Independent Financial Planners have been assisting me with my investments and pension planning for many years. I have always found them helpful and professional and I believe my families’ money has been safely and efficiently looked after.

Daniel Ronson

Get in touch

If you would like any more information on our services for military personnel, veterans and their families, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Next steps

We’re here to get things moving. Drop a message to one of our experts and we’ll get straight back to you.

Call us: 033 3016 2222

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