Direct Access Barrister
Christopher William Stirling
Direct Access Barrister
Christopher William Stirling
I am a barrister at Field Court Chambers in London and a door tenant at 1 Crown Office Row in Brighton. I practises in both financial remedies and contested chancery: particularly private client disputes including property ownership disputes between co-habitants ("ToLATA claims"), contested probate and Inheritance Act matters. I am frequently instructed in complex cases where both family law and civil law issues arise in the same proceedings and have had reported cases both at first instance and in the Court of Appeal. I am one of the contributors to Resolution’s Cohabitation Law and Practice 3rd Edition and have had had a number of published articles in professional legal journals in respect of my areas of expertise. I regularly lecture on ToLATA, enforcement of financial remedy orders, the impact of insolvency within financial remedy proceedings and recently the use of civil style mediation for resolving family disputes.
I also sit as an evaluator/ pFDR adjudicator in both financial remedy and ToLATA matters.
Area of Law
Family
I have over 30 years experience in family financial remedy work. I have appeared in all courts up to and including the Court of Appeal with a number of reported cases. My parallel civil chancery experience means I am particularly sought after for cases involving overlap with civil legal concepts in respect of businesses, trusts and property ownership including intervener proceedings in Financial Remedy Cases.
Property
I have over 30 years experience in property disputes especially disputes as to the co-ownership of property under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 ("ToLATA"). I am one of the specialist barristers invited by Resolution to contribute to their Co-habitation Handbook on this topic.
Wills and Probate
I have over 30 years experience in contested wills and probate work and challenges to distribution under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 both in the County Court and the High Court. My overlap with financial remedy work gives my particular expertise in dealing with claims by spouses under the Inheritance Act in which the "fiction of divorce" principle applies.
What sort of work do I do?
My practice involves:
1. In family work all types of financial remedies work in the Family Court and on appeal to the High Court and Court of Appeal - especially claims involving interveners, trusts, companies, bankruptcy, property ownership disputes and all aspects of enforcement.
2. In civil property work: all aspects of disputes in the County Court and High Court as to the co-ownership of property (ToLATA) including issues in respect of express trusts, constructive trusts, resulting trusts and acquisition constructive trusts.
3. In civil wills and probate claims: all aspects of contested disputes as to the administration of estates including capacity challenges, allegations of undue influence, unjust enrichment claims, removal of executors and trustees and challenges to distribution in wills or intestacy under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
In respect of all of the above I am a keen advocate of avoiding court if at all possible and exploring and engaging in ADR to resolve disputes, if possible, in a conciliatory and cost effective fashion. In this regard I have extensive experience and expertise in mediation advocacy.
Who do I work for?
My clients are usually private individuals, often but not always of high net worth, who are involved, either directly as parties or as interveners, in financial remedy disputes or in civil cases in respect of property or wills and probate.