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Angela  Calnan

Angela Calnan (TEP)

Partner | Guernsey

International Private Client and Trusts

  • Angela Calnan has proven to be excellent in matching the work requested with the outcome provided.
    Legal 500 2022
  • Angela Calnan is readily understands case needs and delivers promptly – great trust knowledge.
    Legal 500 (UK) 2023
  • Angela Calnan has a great way of putting people at their ease while also filling you with confidence that she knows exactly what she is doing.
    Legal 500
  • Very proactive in forging a relationship with our business and getting to know our people
    Client feedback
  • Angela has a good understanding of private wealth issues. She is practical and provides good advice.
    Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2021
  • Angela has great personality and presence – she’s dynamic, engaging, and highly commercial
    Client testimonial
  • Every time I contact her on a matter she responds immediately. Advice is concise and timely
    Client feedback
  • Best of Breed
    Spear's 500 Private Client Guide
  • Angela doesn’t just think outside the box, she simply refuses to believe there is a box. She’s a genuine pleasure to work with.
    Client testimonial
  • Angela Calnan remains a star and stand-out performer in the non-contentious trust field. She not only has a good knowledge of the relevant law, she also appreciates the practical and commercial considerations.
    Legal 500
  • stays calm under pressure
    Chambers and Partners
  • Angela Calnan leads from the front with her team. She has a great sense of humour and can lighten even the toughest of situations. She also is incredibly hard working and knowledgeable and someone you can always rely on.
    Legal 500
  • very practical and approachable.
    Chambers & Partners
  • Angela is my first choice in non-contentious trust matters. She is responsive, client focussed and always looking for practical solutions.
    Client testimonial

Overview

Angela has been Head of our multi-award winning International Private Client & Trust Department in Guernsey since 2012 – now one of the largest teams of its type in Guernsey and ranked Tier 1 by E-Private Client.

Angela's core strengths are in establishing, reorganising and winding up Guernsey trust and foundation structures (including pension and gratuity schemes) and also assisting trustees in navigating the administration of those structures in accordance with their fiduciary duties.

As a former litigator prior to moving to Guernsey, Angela is great at spotting thorny issues early and assisting trustees and beneficiaries to resolve conflict before things escalate into litigation.

"I am a modern, dynamic lawyer who takes her clients by the hand and guides them through often very complex matters on time, on budget and with a smile."

Experience

Angela has been a Solicitor of England & Wales since 2003 and an Advocate of the Royal Court of Guernsey since 2020.

Day to day, Angela's caseload is very varied. Recently she has established private trust companies and private trustee foundations with multiple underlying trusts and companies for both domestic and international families in conjunction with some of the UK's leading City firms. She has established multi-million dollar pensions and end of service gratuity schemes for multiple UAE companies and she has also assisted trustees in deliberating "momentous decisions" and mediating the interests of warring beneficiaries.

Background

With a family background in the military, Angela is no stranger to moving around. Prior to settling down in Guernsey in 2012 she practiced law in the UK, Singapore and Dubai and this has enabled her to not only build a wide and diverse professional network but also to have a cultural appreciation of many of the clients and intermediaries that she works with which gives her a real edge in terms of building rapport.

Angela is listed as a 'Leading Individual' in Legal 500.

Awards

• Lawyer of the Year – Gold, Partner – Citywealth
• STEP Legal Team of the Year – Midsize
• Wealth Briefing Woman of the Year – runner up
• Powerwoman – Citywealth

Memberships

• Law Society of England & Wales
• Guernsey Bar
• STEP – Full Member

 

 

* Business Assistant
Karen Taylor

Karen Taylor

 
My services
Alderney & Sark Legal Services
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Collas Crill's experienced Guernsey team regularly advise on the laws of both Sark and Alderney in addition to Guernsey itself.

Changes of Trustee/DORAs
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Changes of trustee documents (DORA or IORAs) usually contain indemnities from the incoming trustee to the outgoing trustee which are often hotly negotiated and can be complex. A change of trustee also presents a good opportunity for the incoming trustee to undertake a due diligence exercise by reviewing the trust documents, ensuring that the previous chain of trusteeship is intact and ensuring that the outgoing trustee ratifies or rectifies any flaws in the trust or the trust documents before the trusteeship is handed over. We have considerable experience in narrowing the issues in these negotiations. We are also well versed in assisting our trustee clients in mitigating risk by spotting (sometimes very significant flaws) in trusts before they are taken on and by ratifying previous discrepancies in a commercial manner – commonly without necessitating the involvement of the court.

Family Limited Partnerships
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Many individuals think of the traditional trust as being the best way to manage their estate planning needs. However, there is a growing client base from civil law jurisdictions unfamiliar with the trust concept launching alternative structures. Recent examples include foundations, private family funds and, increasingly, the Family Limited Partnership (FLP). While initially developed onshore, the concept of FLPs was also harnessed and developed offshore in the Channel Islands as a flexible investment structure and a viable alternative to the traditional trust due to its ability to transmit wealth to younger generations while allowing patriarchs to retain a sensible level of control. This is particularly important for clients using the FLP to transfer the family business or “golden egg”, where a loss of control is so unpalatable. As the name implies, an FLP would be ideally suited to the wealthy family, as it is flexible enough to allow a very bespoke agreement to be put in place to cater for the often very detailed and prescriptive demands of clients who can afford and are used to having something tailor made.

Family Trusts & Foundations
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Alongside companies and wills, Family Trusts are still a very popular tool for estate planning and asset protection – perhaps even more so in the light of the envisaged changes to the UK non-dom regime. Family Foundations are proving to be a popular new tool for families looking to ensure their wealth and assets are protected for future generations. We establish trusts and foundations for local and international families to preserve family businesses and ensure appropriate succession planning. We work closely with tax advisers in order to ensure that any new Family trust or foundation fits with a family's overall tax position and will be a workable long term, cost efficient structure. Discretionary trusts are still the most popular but we can also advise on fixed trusts, will trusts and pension trusts.

International Pensions & EBTs
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We advise internationally based companies and trustees on the establishment and operation of employee incentive schemes, addressing issues such as the funding and structuring of awards as between sponsoring employer and trustee, treatment of dividend entitlements for share awards and the formulation of the beneficial class of EBTs having regard to international legal and taxation requirements.

Middle East Group
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The demand for professional advisers who understand the needs of clients in the region has never been more important. With shariah-compliant products and Islamic finance becoming increasingly mainstream and integrated into the global financial system, it is important to partner with a team who understands the complexities of these structures, while also understanding how more traditional structures can be applied to meet the needs of Middle Eastern clients.

Private Client
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As global legislation, regulation and taxation constantly change and become more complex, it has never been more important to make long-term plans to secure your future, the future of your family or your business. We cut through the legal jargon to provide clear, practical advice when you most need it and anticipate the challenges you are likely to face so that you can rest assured you and your family are in safe hands at every step of the way.

Relocate to the Channel Islands
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Our team is ideally placed to advise on and project manage such a relocation, advising on everything from company migrations, housing licences and real estate matters through to introductions to other service providers and complementary local businesses. Some of our people have first-hand experience of moving to the island themselves, affording them a unique insight into the challenges and opportunities you are likely to face.

Trustee Duties
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The duties of a trustee plays in managing the trust assets and dealing with beneficiaries not only vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but are dictated by trust agreement and its nuances, the type of trust and its specific purpose. Advising on trustee duties is a rapidly growing area given the increasingly complex legal and regulatory framework to which trustees must adhere. Importantly, trustees are becoming increasingly aware of the advantages of acting early and seeking advice on their duties – particularly in situations of potential conflict or stress. Trustees are also making more use of the courts in asking for directions or in having "momentous decisions" blessed.

Trustee Risk & Regulatory Management
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Developments, consolidations and regulation have means that effective risk management and mitigation has never been more important. Our advice is not a ‘one size fits all’ solution, but rather is based on an individual company’s specific business model. By building a partnership with you we add value by providing to trustees with a range of regulatory advice, administration support, products and services within a dedicated team approach, precedent development and on-going education and industry updates. Together with our multi-disciplinary risk and regulatory team, we advise on anti money laundering laws and the regulation of trust companies and can assist in the creation and improvement of straightforward operating procedures, including checklists, designed in conjunction with the needs of a trustee to ensure that all members of staff, no matter what their experience, can provide consistent and accurate back office services.

Trusts & Fiduciary
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We work closely with trust and fiduciary businesses and their clients to build strong relationships based on trust, confidence and a deep understanding of their priorities and needs. We have an extensive range of experience in terms of particular products or service lines, including pensions and Shariah, and many of the team have worked in the other international off and onshore jurisdictions prominent in the world of wealth management. We have associated skills in dispute resolution, risk and regulatory, and image protection. We ensure that thought has been given to the composition of the team on every piece of work we do, and use our mix of skill and experience effectively.

Trusts & Foundations
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The most common mistake that clients make when relocating is failing to take estate planning and tax advice well in advance of any move. There can be significant estate planning opportunities to be had and tax consequences to mitigate prior to any move and seeking advice early is key so that all existing wills, trusts, foundations and companies can be reviewed and any consolidation or new structuring put in place in good time. As well as being a beautiful, safe and peaceful places to live and work, Guernsey and Jersey have flexible trust and foundations legislation and are highly regulated jurisdictions with a well-established court system which makes it a popular choice for relocating clients.

Insight 11 Sep 2023

UAE New Family Business Law

Family businesses hold a prominent and important role in the UAE economy and, prior to this year, have done so without a flexible and robust legal framework within which to...

Life & Careers 21 Jul 2023

Chambers HNW Guide 2023

Collas Crill's Private Client teams in the Channel Islands have once again featured in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide, the guide for go-to individuals and firms in the...

Insight 18 Jul 2023

Middle Eastern succession planning

This article first appeared in issue 11 of Thought Leaders 4 Private Client Magazine. In this article Angela reflects on what is a significant period of accelerated growth...

News 16 Dec 2022

Deadline for Guernsey charities

Since the new charities regime was introduced into Guernsey law in April 2022 we have helped a number of charities and non profit organisations (NPOs) understand the new...

News 27 Oct 2022

Epc Top Offshore Law Firms 2022

Collas Crill has once again been named in tier 1 of the 2022 eprivateclient Top Offshore Law Firms. The firm's International Private Client and Trusts team features in the...

Life & Careers 26 Oct 2022

Angela Calnan: Powerwomen Awards

Angela Calnan, Partner and Head of International Private Client and Trusts in Guernsey, has been shortlisted in the 'Woman of the Year - Guernsey' category at the 2023...

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Event 7 Nov 2023

HNW Advisor launch event in Riyadh

Collas Crill is a proud partner of HNW Advisor for its launch event in Riyadh on 7 November. HNW Advisor is the thought leadership and content hub for PCD Club, an...

Event 29 Sep 2022
Past Event

STEP Student Introductory Series

Collas Crill is delighted to sponsor and host the third event in the STEP Guernsey's Student Introductory Series. Angela Calnan and Cerisse Fisher will be speaking on the...

Event 7 Jun 2022
Past Event

Trust & Private Client conference

Chaired by Collas Crill's head of International Private Client & Trust Angela Calnan, this conference is a great way to reconnect with peers and create new connections...

Event 19 Nov 2021
Past Event

CI International Pensions

Partner Angela Calnan is speaking at The Channel Islands International Pensions Conference. She is providing a legal update on the topic of pensions and gratuities from a...

Event 18 Nov 2021
Past Event

Deeds of Retirement and Appointment

Partner Angela Calnan and Senior Associate Cerisse Fisher will be delivering a CPD event for The Chartered Governance Institute - Bailiwick of Guernsey Branch covering Deeds...

Event 30 Sep 2021
Past Event

Int'l Trust & Private Client Gsy

Partner Angela Calnan will be opening and closing the International Trust & Private Client Guernsey conference on 30 September. Organised by Informa, the conference will...

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