Probate Practitioners Conference

Pat is a tax consultant lecturer at Mercia Group. Pat originally trained and worked in the profession for Ernst & Young, Grant Thornton and KPMG before moving to the University of Derby as their senior tax lecturer. Her time at Derby included undergraduate and professional tax training as well as being involved in examinations and publishing projects for ACCA and other professional bodies.

This led to a ten-year period with the Financial Training Company (now Kaplan) where she was Tax Product Director for the Midlands as well as becoming well known as a prominent exam-based tax lecturer. Over her career Pat has been actively involved in the tax professional bodies including serving as a Council member for 12 years for the Association of Taxation Technicians.

Dan joined the Quality Assurance Department (QAD) of ICAEW in 2017, having previously been a manager in the audit practice of a national firm. He manages QAD’s probate monitoring as well as leading a team of reviewers who carry out audit, Practice Assurance (PA) and DPB monitoring visits to a range of firms. He is also involved with our third-party contracts with The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries as well as with other regulators based overseas. Dan also manages QAD's Licensed Practice monitoring for firms registered as ATOL Reporting Accountants.

Sally is the lead Partner of our Private Client, Trust and Probate team, with over 25 years’ experience advising individuals, families and trustees on complex tax and succession matters.

She provides a full range of private client services, including compliance and advisory work for individuals, trusts and estates, with a particular focus on tax planning for high‑net‑worth individuals and families. Sally is known for her clear, practical advice and her ability to navigate complex tax issues in a way that supports long‑term family and wealth planning objectives.

Sally is a Chartered Tax Adviser (CIOT) and a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). She works closely with clients, their families and other professional advisers to deliver tailored, forward‑looking planning advice.

Sally also has significant experience in probate and estate administration, supporting executors and families through what can often be a complex and sensitive process. As a probate‑authorised practitioner, she advises on all aspects of estate administration, from initial reporting and tax compliance through to the final distribution of assets.

Professor Lesley King is a former member of the Probate & Estates Committee of STEP, a former member of the Law Society’s Wills & Equity Committee and an honorary member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists. She is Professional Development Consultant at the University of Law.

She is co-author of Wills, Taxation and Administration: A Practical Guide; A Modern Approach to Wills, Administration and Estate Planning (with Precedents);  A Modern Approach to Lifetime Tax Planning for Private Clients (with Precedents); A Practitioner’s Guide to Wills; Varying the Disposition of an Estate after Death; Wills: A Practical Guide; and editor of The Probate Practitioner’s Handbook.

She is a contributor to the Wills and Trusts volumes of Halsbury’s Laws and the Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents and to The Law and Ethics of Dementia. She is the wills and probate columnist for the Law Society Gazette, and writes and lectures extensively on wills, taxation and related matters.