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Sally Ashford

Partner

Sally specialises in advising high-net-worth individuals and family business owners on estate and family succession planning, including strategies for inheritance tax mitigation and the use of trusts.

sally-ashford

About

As the leader of the UK Private Client team, Sally brings over three decades of experience, helping clients to protect and pass on their personal wealth or business interests through inheritance tax mitigation and succession planning. She also advises clients in relation to their broader philanthropic and charitable aims.

Sally takes pride in the long-standing relationships she has built, in some cases extending across three generations of a client's family. This depth of connection allows her to provide tailored advice that resonates with the personal and financial nuances of each family's story.

Her experience also encompasses Court of Protection matters, where she navigates issues relating to mental incapacity including statutory will and gift applications. Sally regularly acts as an attorney or professional deputy, offering guidance and support when it is most needed, and often in complex cases.

Beyond acting for individuals and business owners, Sally also advises charities and not-for-profit organisations in relation to legacy administration and the development of legacy campaign literature, ensuring their valuable work continues well into the future.

Sally is honoured to be recommended in the Legal 500 and Chambers legal directories and ranked in the Citywealth Leaders List and the Hall of Fame for Legal 500 Court of Protection. She is a director of the Firm's independent Trust Corporation and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Sally is passionate about her work and building lasting relationships with our clients. She takes the time to find out what our clients are worrying about, and then, together with their other advisors, works to find practical and appropriate solutions. If you're seeking a trusted adviser to help you navigate the complexities of private client law, Sally is here to offer her expertise and support.

Sally is admitted to practise in England and Wales.

Experience

  • Acting as Financial and Health & Welfare deputy for a client with complex capacity and welfare needs
  • Advising multiple generations of a family in relation to their successful, national family business and personal assets
  • Advising on inheritance tax planning, trusts and succession planning for a client with international dimensions and complicated family arrangements

Recognition

  • legal-500-hall-of-fame-2025
  • CHNW-2024-Sally-Ashford
  • ashford-sally
  • sally ashford
  • Spears 500_2022_Ribbon
  • uk-leading-individual-2021
  • Chambers HNW 2020 - Sally Ashford

Our thinking

  • FT Adviser reports on our Gen Z survey and quotes William Marriott and Sally Ashford on the financial behaviours of this cohort

    William Marriott

    In The Press

  • Charles Russell Speechlys finds that Gen Z prioritises financial planning and saving amidst growing economic challenges

    Sally Ashford

    News

  • Charles Russell Speechlys finds that over half of Gen Z say the Bank of Mum and Dad comes with strings attached

    Sally Ashford

    News

  • The Financial Times reports on our independent survey of Gen Z adults and quotes Sally Ashford on the influence of the Bank of Mum and Dad and potential strings attached

    Sally Ashford

    In The Press

  • The Financial Times quotes Sally Ashford on predatory marriage and claims against wills

    Sally Ashford

    In The Press

  • Citywealth quotes Sally Ashford on the challenges faced by ageing parents with adult children who have mental or physical health issues

    Sally Ashford

    In The Press

  • The Financial Times quotes Sally Ashford on UK legal pre-budget activity and client concerns

    Sally Ashford

    In The Press

  • eprivateclient quotes Sally Ashford on considerations around power of attorney

    Sally Ashford

    In The Press

  • Sally Ashford and Oliver Auld write for International Adviser on the role of a trustee in a family trust

    Sally Ashford

    In The Press

  • The Financial Times quotes Sally Ashford on inheritance tax and devising a property strategy for relatives

    Sally Ashford

    In The Press

  • Charles Russell Speechlys Presses Play at the Guildford Games Festival

    Sally Ashford

    News

  • Changing an Enduring Power of Attorney

    Sally Ashford

    Insights

  • The Surrey Chambers of Commerce report on the Charles Russell Speechlys' Community Fund's support of Surrey Young Carers

    Sally Ashford

    In The Press

  • The Bank of Gran and Grandad

    Sally Ashford

    Insights

  • Sally Ashford interviewed by BBC Radio Surrey on remote witnessing of wills

    Sally Ashford

    In The Press

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