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private client issues - March 2011

Our Private Client Services group produces this quarterly newsletter to keep you up-to-date with hot topics and changes in the law that may affect you and how you manage or preserve your wealth and assets.

In the Spring 2011 edition of private client issues, we focus on the legal issues related to the arts and heritage, marking our association with The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival taking place from 2-10 April.

Click on the links below for more information.

Alternatively, view/download the newsletter as a pdf.

• firm appointed official lawyers to The Sunday Times Oxford Literary FestivalMar 2011
  Blake Lapthorn has been appointed as the official lawyers to the 2011 Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival, taking place from 2 to 10 April 2011 at Christ Church, Corpus Christi and Merton Colleges in Oxford.
• pre nuptial agreements - would Mrs Bennett approve?Mar 2011
  As a successful author, artist or musician, you need to consider how best to protect your creativity and the wealth that you have created from it. Our Family team highlights the role that pre nutial agreements can play for those who are not married, but contemplating marriage.
• charitable giving by authors and scholarsMar 2011
  Authors and scholars are well known for their philanthropic tendencies; our Charities team is regularly asked to advise on the ways in which authors can donate their works, or the royalties from them, to charity.
• the life of an artist (whether writer, sculptor or actor) is surely a romantic one... isn’t it?Mar 2011
  It is commonly thought that around 70% of the population will die without ever having made a Will; there is no reason to believe that artists would buck the statistics. Our Succession and Tax team stresses the benefits of having a properly drafted and executed Will.
• buying and selling works of art - how to avoid the pitfallsMar 2011
  Common problems faced when buying and selling valuable art and antiques are establishing the correct attribution or authenticity and ensuring the provenance is accurate and reliable. Our Litigation and Dispute Resolution team provides a summary of some of the key issues that are involved in dealing with these problems.
• taxation of works of art and chattelsMar 2011
  Our Succession and Tax team considers some of the ways to reduce and, in some cases, avoid inheritance tax and capital gains tax becoming payable when passing on works of art and chattels to the next generation or selling the family silver.
• Arts and BusinessMar 2011
  Christine Plews, head of our Family team, looks at Arts and Business, an organisation that puts business people in touch with arts organisations that need help in becoming more business-orientated.

For further information or to talk to someone about a specific matter, please contact a team member in the office nearest you:

Rachel Brooks, partner and head of Private Client Services group in our Portsmouth office, on 023 9228 2714 or at rachel.brooks@bllaw.co.uk.

James Antoniou, partner in our Oxford office, on 01865 254286 or at james.antoniou@bllaw.co.uk.

Fiona Fox, solicitor in our Southampton and Portsmouth offices, on 023 8085 7282 / 023 9228 2748 or at fiona.fox@bllaw.co.uk.

Douglas Smith, partner in our London office, on 020 7814 5438 or at douglas.smith@bllaw.co.uk.

Alternatively, email our general enquiries helpdesk on privateclientinfo@bllaw.co.uk.