Ursula grew up and studied law in Zurich, Switzerland. She moved to London in 1988 and has since worked in London and Sussex law firms, eventually specialising in all areas of private client law and gaining full STEP membership in 2006.

She has also joined the STEP Sussex Committee.

It is important to Ursula that her clients are at ease when dealing with her and feel that they are receiving excellent service for their money.

She is currently a Trustee of the British Society for Research on Ageing, having spent several years as a Trustee of Age UK Brighton & Hove prior to that.

Outside work Ursula loves food, keeping fit, the outdoors and reading, but her passion is rowing. She rows competitively for Ardingly Rowing Club at local, national and international level.

I am a Partner who has worked in the Private Client department for 10 years starting as a paralegal. I am an Affiliate member of STEP.

I acts in the administration of estates and enjoy working on complex or out of the ordinary matters including estates including cross border matters. I have experience dealing with estates with assets in France, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Morocco, and Luxembourg.

I am Secretary for the Lewes & District Dementia Action Alliance and help promote Mayo Wynne Baxter as a dementia friendly firm. I work with those living with dementia and their carers to ensure that their Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney reflect their wishes and to ensure they have an advocate who can support then if they cannot do so themselves. I encourage carers and family members to prepare Wills for ensure that the person living with dementia is protected should their carer or family member die.

I pride myself on providing caring and understanding advice and I am a familiar face around Lewes. I ensure that those with additional needs are given bespoke treatment according to their needs and I really value building a relationship with my clients that extends from initial diagnosis to the end of their lives.

What attracted you and keeps you in this area of law?
I have worked for MWB since 2008 having qualified as a solicitor in 1994 and I spent the years in between working in the personal tax department of various accountancy firms.

I moved into private client work to have more regular client contact and to be able to engage with a wider area of practice which includes drafting Wills and creating Lasting Powers of Attorney, to the administration of estates including the final tax and estate accounts.

As well as being a solicitor I am a Fellow of the Association of Taxation Technicians and I am a Full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I like helping others whether clients or colleagues and I take satisfaction from a job well done whether small or large. I also enjoy talking to people about why they might need a Will or LPA and I have done some local talks on these important matters.

What are your particular strengths and skills?

I am naturally organised, and I also enjoy puzzle solving and untying problems. I am good at maths and organising figures and one of my roles is to assist colleagues with the trickier estate accounts. My background in personal tax compliance also gives me a good basis to assist my clients and colleagues with aspects of income tax up to the date of death and during the administration of an estate.

Tell me about a memorable time when you have helped a client?

It is a privilege to talk in depth with our clients about their affairs or those of someone they have lost. When at the end of a client meeting a client says that it was OK and nowhere near as stressful or difficult as they though it would be, I feel a good sense of having helped someone.

What would your colleagues say about you?

That I am kind and gentle and a nice person to have around the office. That I am a good listener both to them and to my clients. And that I am good at accounts and tax and enjoy helping them out with these.

Outside work….

I love being with family and friends, my garden and running by the sea. I am also a self-supporting Church of England priest licenced to the Lewes and Seaford Deanery which means I could pop up in a church near you on a Sunday morning.

I am the Chichester Diocese Bishops Advisor on Self Supporting Ministry and I am also a member of the PCC of St Leonards and St Lukes Seaford, the Deanery Synod of Lewes and Seaford and Chichester Diocesan Synod.

What attracted, and keeps you in this area of law?

I always wanted to be a solicitor so after studying in London and Paris, I qualified in a small high street firm in Shoreham by Sea in 1999.  There I had a taste of a number of different areas of law and financial advice.  After qualifying, I worked in financial services in London for a while but found I missed the personal connection with my clients, so returned to law at Mayo Wynne Baxter in 2003.  Writing a Will involves fully understanding what a client needs and preparing the right Will to suit them.  Helping a grieving relative navigate the probate process, and share their burden is an immense privilege.

What do you most enjoy about your role?

It’s a cliché, but other than my colleagues, the best thing about my job is my clients.  Every day is different.  Dealing with the loss of a loved one or contemplating one’s own mortality is hard.  To have a client say “that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be” is a lovely feeling. I am currently head of the department and am enjoying being able to help shape the future of the team and watching the more junior members progress.   I work with a network of excellent financial and tax advisers and accountants to ensure that my clients get great all-round advice.

What are your particular strengths and skills?

Possibly strangely for a solicitor, I am good at maths and really enjoy preparing accounts, showing what funds have been received and paid out during the administration of an estate.  I take time to talk with my clients to work out what they actually want, to create the right Will, Power of Attorney or even to decide to do nothing. I like solving problems and getting things done. And I especially enjoy saving my clients from paying unnecessary tax.  When I decided to specialise in this area, I became a member of STEP, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners which is a worldwide organisation of experts in this area.  I now sit on the Sussex STEP committee.  I am very positive, and passionate about the importance to everyone to have a Will.  I have done presentations in retirement and care homes, to charity supporters, to bank customers, and even to the WI to spread the word.

Tell me about a memorable time when you’ve helped a client

I hope I help all my clients, but some unusual situations do spring to mind.

  • I remember one client who was in danger of losing her house when her partner died unexpectedly without a Will.  We helped keep the family in their home.
  • On a number of occasions, I have visited clients in hospital to prepare Wills, giving them peace to know their loved ones will be supported.
  • One of my clients had over 100 individual shareholdings and certificates that we had to sort and sell.
  • One of the most complex I have been involved with as a gentleman whose uncle died without a Will.  His estate went to his sister, who sadly died shortly afterwards.  The uncle had 2 businesses, several shareholdings, and 3 properties.  At the same time, we are dealing with a claim that a fraudulent Will exists.
  • Recently we helped a local client claim heritage asset relief against Inheritance Tax, saving an important painting for a local museum.

What would your colleagues say about you?

That I am straight talking.  But I talk a lot.  And I will always try and help the rest of the team.

Outside of work

I like to spend time with my family and I even try to cram in a good book when I have the time!