Helen Geldart

Solicitor

01255 254252

helen.geldart@tsplegal.com

Helen, who qualified as a solicitor in 1993, is supervised by Robert Ashworth. She Joined the TSP Wills and Estates team in June 2021. Based in our Clacton office, Helen advises clients on a range of private client matters including Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney and Estate administration.

Helen studied for her degree in Spanish and French at Portsmouth Polytechnic before going on to complete her legal qualifications at the University of West of England and Lancashire Polytechnic.

Before specialising in private client work, Helen spent a number of years working in the Legal expenses insurance industry advising on a variety of areas including Employment law and Commercial law.

She says ‘I enjoy helping people with their own particular needs. Everyone I help has something that is individual and special to them. This makes my work all the more interesting and rewarding.’

Helen is fluent in Spanish and French and is a member of the University of Essex choir. In her spare time she enjoys classical music and having lessons in singing and piano.

Thompson Smith and Puxon has, for a number of years, been recommended by the Legal 500 in this practice area. In 2022/23 the Legal 500 said: Thompson Smith and Puxon‘s group is based in Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea. During 2021, the team acted for a varied client roster in the business and the agricultural sphere. The firm has long-standing and strong relationships with the regional rural community and has a substantial portfolio of agricultural clients. Fiona Ashworth leads a team, which has strong expertise in lifetime and succession planning work. Clients describe Robert Ashworth as ‘excellent, patient and thorough’, and Aileen Hirst is a key team member. Senior associate Nicola Healy joined from Tees Law in 2022.

In 2021/2022 the Legal 500 said: Thompson Smith and Puxon’s wills and estates practice is highly prominent in the agriculture sector; its recent workload in this space has included advice to clients on farming family successions, high-value estate administrations and tax-related issues. Fiona Ashworth and Robert Ashworth are both members of the Agricultural Law Association, and along with Aileen Hirst, are members of the Tendring Hundred Farmers Association and Suffolk Agricultural Association. Beyond work for agricultural clients, the practice is highlighted for its advice to business owners and high-net-worth individuals on lifetime and succession planning. Elsewhere, the team’s other areas of expertise include Court of Protection deputyship matters, powers of attorney and contested wills.