William Hillier

William is a senior member of the finance team and is widely instructed in complex financial disputes.

He has extensive experience in cases involving business assets including farming cases, companies, sole traders, inherited money, substantial pension funds, including military pensions, assets out of the jurisdiction, and third party interests including family trusts.

William also regularly represents parents seeking financial provision for their children pursuant to Schedule 1 Children Act 1989 and non-married couples or family members who are involved in property disputes pursuant to the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996.

Recent cases have included:

• Representing H who during a lengthy marriage established and ran a successful multi-million pound business. The issues in the case included valuing the parties respective interests in the company. The amount of money that could be released from the company so as to enable one party to buy out the other’s interest and the tax implications of this. The settlement also included property transfer, offsetting of the value of the family home and offsetting their private pension arrangements. This case settled successfully at FDR
• Representing W who successfully preserved all of her inherited family estate in Ireland for the benefit of her children. This was a long marriage case in which W’s parents died during the course of the marriage.
• Representing W in proceedings where H’s mother contributed to the purchase price of the matrimonial home and intervened in proceedings claiming a third party interest in the matrimonial home.
• Representing W in proceedings where both parties were solicitors and H an equity partner in a successful firm. H’s financial interests were complex and included partnership funds, minority shareholdings in a number of limited companies, property held in trust and a significant pension fund. The case focused on an expert analysis of the availability and liquidity of resources to ensure that suitable provision was made for W and their two children.
• Representing W in a case where H was the majority shareholder in successful business he established during the marriage. H had assets in his name in excess of £1million which he sort to substantially undervalue during the proceedings. The family home was also subject to a declaration of trust which H sought to reply upon to defeat W claims.
• Representing H who retired after a lengthy career in the Police Force with a substantial pension fund. W was the sole director of her own company which she sought to establish was worthless due to the Covid-19 crisis and accordingly sought a substantial pension sharing order.
• Representing the second wife in financial proceedings which ran simultaneously to a claim commenced by the first wife. H was a self employed builder and the Court had to consider expert evidence in relation to the value of his business as well as arguments over the priority of each wife’s financial claim.
• Representing H in a short marriage case where both parties married when in their 60’s. The assets in the case exceeded £2 million  and included property outside of the jurisdiction, pension funds in payment and inheritance claims.
• Representing H who was a farmer in a long marriage case. The farm business including the farmhouse, which served as the matrimonial home, was the main assets in this case

William represents parents, children and other relatives in all types of private law claims. The majority of this work involves representing parents in applications for or to vary child arrangement orders but he is also regularly instructed in specific issue and prohibited steps order applications and injunctive orders under the Family Law Act.

William has particular experience in relocation cases, intractable contact disputes involving allegations of parent alienation and fact finding hearings concerning allegations of domestic abuse (including sexual, physical and emotional abuse) and drug/alcohol misuse.

Recent cases have included:

• Representation of a parent seeking contact with their child following allegations that they sexually abused another child.
• Multi day final hearing whereby the father of the children successfully obtained an order that the children live with him, despite the mother’s allegations of domestic violence against him and the Court making a non-molestation order against the father during the initial stages of the proceedings.
• Representing the mother in a fact finding hearing and final hearing where she made allegations of rape, sexual abuse and drug use against the respondent father. At the final hearing a no contact order was made against the father.
• Representing the father in a relocation application when the mother sought to relocate their two young children to the other side of the country following the breakdown of their relationship.
• Representing a parent in a specific issue application to determine the appropriate school for their child.
• Representing a father in an application to reverse a child arrangements order against the child’s wishes on the basis of parental alienation.
• Multi day final hearing to determine child arrangements and occupation of the family home in a scenario when neither parent was prepared to leave the family home following the breakdown of their relationship. At the final hearing the court had to address cross allegations of domestic violence, inappropriate parenting and alcohol abuse.
• A multi day fact finding hearing concerning allegations of physical harm and verbal threats of harm to the children, emotional abuse of the children and physical assault of their father by their mother whilst the children were in his care.

William undertakes Court of Protection work representing clients on a broad range of health and welfare matters and financial disputes. He represents Local Authorities, Health Care Trusts, The Official Solicitor and relatives alike.

Cases have included:

• Representing a vulnerable adult through the Official Solicitor, who lived in supported living in the community who lacked capacity about the use of social media and the capacity to engage in sexual relationships.
• Advising adult children who are deputies for their father’s financial affairs as to whether or not it is in their father’s best interests to fund visits for family members who live abroad.
• Deprivation of Liberty application to determine whether or not it in the best interests of P to return home following an admission to hospital due to heavy alcohol consumption.
• Representing a young adult with complex emotional disorder symptoms including non-verbal autism, sensory difficulties, obsessive compulsive disorder, and eating difficulties in a deprivation of liberty application to remove him from the family home following allegations of sexual abuse by family members. Following his removal from the family home and after a period of weeks in a residential placement  P was admitted to Intensive care as he refused to eat. In hospital allegations were made that he was caused deliberate harm by visiting family members. A four day finding of fact hearing subsequently took place to determine this issue.
• S.21A application to determine the package of care for a young adult with a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder, mild learning difficulties, anxiety and attachment difficulties with a history of self-harming behaviour who was considered a high risk of suicide.
• Representing an 87 year old lady, through the Official Solicitor with severe dementia who was detained in hospital against her expressed wishes. Her family wished for her to return home with a package of care of care and the Court had to determine her long term residence and care needs at a final hearing.
• Representing a local authority in a s.21A application concerning a 25 year old with learning difficulties and epilepsy. The case concerned her long term residence and care needs. As part of these proceedings the applicant sought findings that P’s parent had failed to seek medical attention for their daughter and had failed to follow legal advice.
• Representing the Office of the Public Guardian in proceedings seeking to remove family members from acting as attorney for property and financial affairs following allegations of unauthorised expenditure on P’s behalf.

William is regularly instructed in cohabitee and family trust claims pursuant to the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA). Recent cases have included:

• A client seeking a life interest in a property following multiple house sales and purchases over a 25 year period in which his client was alleged to have acted fraudulently.
• Defending a claim of undue influence whereby the other party was seeking to have the whole conveyance set aside.
• Equitable accounting; where William represented a client in prison for arson following a fire at the family home.
• Representing a property developer whose partner was seeking an interest in the family home based on a contribution to the mortgage payments following a lengthy relationship.
• Representing one of the parties in a dispute as to their respective beneficial interests in their home following the breakdown of a long relationship. The family home was registered in the sole name of one of the parties and the other sought to quantify a beneficial interest based on financial contributions made during their relationship.

In 2008 William spent a year out working as a law clerk for the Death Row Division of the Office of the Public Defender in Ohio, USA.

The Public Defender’s office represents all death-row inmates in Ohio in their state and federal post-conviction appeals. In 2008 there were 180 people on Death Row in Ohio.

William had the opportunity to provide legal research and case work support for all 14 attorneys in the division. His work included:

Clemency application for Jeffrey Hill. – He assisted trial Counsel in preparing for this application. This work involved reviewing past proceedings throughout Hill’s 18 years on death row, interviewing family members, examining similar death penalty cases and clemency hearings, researching medical and psychological reports and writing legal argument. Jeffrey Hill was granted clemency with the possibility of parole.

Richard Cooey’s lethal injection lawsuit. – He reviewed all of his medical records and carried out research into this client’s health for a challenge on the States execution protocol. Sadly this challenge was ruled to be time-barred and Mr Cooey was executed in October 2008.

He conducted a comparative study of the different lethal injection protocols as used by different states in the US. – This included examining expert medical testimony on the effects of each of the three drugs used in lethal injection executions. This issue formed part of a number of different lawsuits.

He was part of the research study group that wrote Ohio’s first death row report.

Outside of work William is a keen cyclist and enjoys competing in sportives in this County and in France.