Jessica Flowerdew

Partner, Brodies LLP

Jessica has a breadth of experience and advises a wide range of different clients on all aspects personal law. She regularly works on estate planning exercises (including matters with cross border aspects), inheritance tax planning, the set up and ongoing administration of trusts, complex executry administration, powers of attorney and issues relating to adults with incapacity including guardianship applications and administration. Jessica has considerable experience of cross border estate planning and executry administration especially in cases with a connection to France.

Jessica is well connected with a number of cross border estate planning specialists in Paris and works closely with advisors in France to provide holistic solutions to clients with interests in both jurisdictions. She is regularly invited to contribute to conferences on cross border issues including those hosted by STEP. As a fluent French speaker, Jessica has also spoken at conferences to professional bodies in France on Scottish quirks of estate, succession and incapacity planning in a cross-border context.

Jessica leads the firm's personal injury trust offering and regularly deals with issues relating to adults with incapacity. She advises many, often extremely vulnerable, clients on the creation and ongoing management of personal injury trusts as well as applying for and administering guardianships. Jessica enjoys working for clients from a range of different backgrounds and facing multiple complex challenges. She is committed to protecting their position and ensuring that they get the most out of life both now and in the future.

Contributed to

1

Confirmation application process in non-domiciled estates—Scotland

Practice Notes

Domicile in Scottish succession and commissary practiceThe concept of domicile—an often misunderstood but fundamental feature of Scottish succession law—has attracted considerable recent attention in the UK press following its abolition as a connecting factor for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes. With effect from 6 April 2025, the UK replaced the longstanding domicile-based IHT test with one based on residence, introducing the new long-term residence (LTR) regime. See Practice Notes: A new residence-based regime for IHT from 2025–26 and New IHT regime from 6 April 2025—FAQs.Notwithstanding the fundamental changes to domicile as it relates to the UK’s IHT framework, domicile remains central to Scottish succession law and commissary practice.Domicile of originA person’s domicile of origin is acquired at birth. The Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 introduced a statutory test for determining the domicile of a person under the age of 16 (and therefore their domicile of origin) in Scotland on or after 4 May 2006. In terms of that test, a child will share the same domicile as their parents if

Private Client