Morris Legal bolsters service offering with new advisory team

Morris Legal has bolstered its service offering with the addition of a new advisory team.

The firm has appointed trusts and estate expert Bethan Read to lead the new group, which will be providing specialist trust and estate advisory services.

Read specialises in all aspects of trust, estate and relationship property planning. She has helped establish new trusts, modify existing trusts, review trusts for compliance with the Trusts Act 2019 and apply for grants of probate and letters of administration.

She is knowledgeable in the provision of asset protection solutions and estate planning, and has handled trust regulatory matters, such as the anti-money laundering obligations of trustees. She has advised on residential care subsidy considerations, as well as the establishment and operation of charitable trusts.

Read has also assisted clients in drafting wills, powers of attorney, relationship property agreements and property sharing agreements.

She is qualified to practise in both the UK and New Zealand. Earlier in her career, she worked with major firms in London and the Channel Islands, where she became experienced in private client advisory issues.

After relocating to New Zealand, Read led the trust legal team and served as director of an NZ-based global trust company. She also worked with an NZ law firm prior to joining Morris Legal.

“Bethan’s arrival enables Morris Legal to offer its clients market-leading specialist, non-contentious advice on trusts, wills, enduring powers of attorney and other estate planning and asset protection matters in addition to the firm's established disputes resolution expertise,” Morris Legal said.

In May, the firm had welcomed senior associate Sarah Moore to its ranks, along with solicitor Alex Bennett and graduate Gemma Edwards.