Sarah Finnigan
Sarah is a Solicitor in our Wills, Trusts and Probate department. Her training and qualification at a London firm plus a 7 year stint working in Manchester after first qualifying, before moving to Oldham in 2009, gives her a broad range of experience.
Sarah has acted for a number of Institutional clients as well as private individuals and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
Sarah’s focus is very much on clients with commercial interests, particularly owner-managers of family businesses who want their private as well as their commercial interests protecting. She regularly advises business owners on succession and exit planning for their business, considering what the tax consequences will be, how to mitigate this and what impact such planning will have on their loved ones who will eventually inherit.
Sarah works with our Financial Planning team, our Corporate team, business advisors and accountants to ensure that all documents including appropriate Wills are in place to reflect their business and personal situation. By its very nature, the advice that Sarah gives is bespoke but there are common themes for all families. Even though she is commercial in her approach, having a personal touch is fundamental to understanding the family dynamics and what the best options are for her clients.
In dealing with clients with business interests Sarah is in a unique position – she is a legal adviser, a tax consultant, a succession planning specialist and often a family mediator. Her expertise extends to the full range of issues on which private individuals with commercial interests will require advice: preparation of wills; general planning advice; inheritance tax advice; advising on and preserving tax reliefs; lifetime disposals of business interests; Lasting Powers of Attorney (for personal and business affairs); and the use of Trusts through which structures clients may achieve long-term protection, flexibility and control.
Out of work Sarah is kept busy chasing around after her two sons, ferrying them around to their various activities. She’s keen on fitness too, when she gets the time!