Johnny Coulthard

"I have dealt largely with Johnny Coulthard who is able to distil a problem into its component parts to be addressed which has been extremely helpful to me as my case has been particularly emotional and distressing at times. He is actually a remarkable young man – focused, empathetic, hard-working." - Client Feedback

Johnny is a Senior Associate in the Dispute Resolution team, based in Carlisle. He is one of the few solicitors in the North of England to be recommended in the Legal 500 – a leading guide to solicitors in the UK - for his expertise in contentious trust and probate claims.

Johnny specialises in contentious private client work with a focus on contentious trust, probate and inheritance disputes. He regularly advises executors and beneficiaries on:

• Disputing Wills
• Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (“the Inheritance Act”)
• Disputes between executors
• Applications to remove trustees and executors
• Claims against executors for breach of their duties
• The interpretation and rectification of Wills
• Applications to the Court for directions in relation to estate administration
• Applications to revoke grants of probate (typically where a later Will is discovered)
• Forfeiture claims
• Breach of trust claims

Johnny’s recent claims include:

• Acting for a claimant in a successful claim for a 6-figure award under the Inheritance Act against an estate worth over £1,000,000
• A claim challenging a Will in a farming estate on the basis the testator lacked testamentary capacity
• Acting for multiple defendant in an Inheritance Act claim which was settled at mediation
• Applying to the Court to remove 2 executors who were not advancing the administration of the estate

A former pupil of Nelson Thomlinson School in Wigton, Johnny obtained a law degree from Northumbria University and has also studied law at the City University of New York. He trained with a national firm and joined Burnetts upon qualification in 2016.

Johnny has also recently completed an accelerated 3 year contentious trust and probate course at the University of Law.

Johnny lives in Carlisle with his wife and young family.