Johnny Coulthard

Johnny is an Associate Solicitor 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.