Expertise
Danielle is a Senior Associate Solicitor within our Contentious Trusts and Probate team. She specialises in contentious probate disputes and has a particular interest in cases relating to capacity and the farming sector.
Background and Expertise
After qualifying in 2020, Danielle worked as a solicitor in Liverpool before making the move to Aaron & Partners LLP. She joined as a Senior Associate Solicitor in October 2024 and currently divides her time between our Chester and Wirral offices.
Straight-talking, task-orientated and understanding, Danielle is particularly valued by clients and is a key member of the Contentious Trusts and Probate team.
Specialisations and Personal Achievements
Danielle graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in 2007 and quickly gained both an interest and a reputation in the specialist field of contentious probate. This remains her focus here at Aaron & Partners.
Contentious probate is an expansive area of law, going beyond disputes over what is (or what is not) contained in wills and other documents. Many of the legal issues Danielle faces on a daily basis are far more personal.
For example, Danielle has a particular interest in disputes related to the difficult subject of capacity. With an educational background that combines Law and Criminology, Danielle has studied the human mind and is fascinated by the more psychological aspects of her cases.
Danielle also deals with contentious probate cases within the context of the agricultural sector, often encountering issues related to proprietary estoppel and farming partnerships. Having grown up on a farm in rural Cumbria, Danielle is often sought out for her knowledge of this industry and has an ability to provide essential personal context to the cases that come across her desk.
On a personal level, Danielle’s combination of honesty and empathy is appreciated by both her clients and her colleagues. She is always reliable in her work as a solicitor and helps her clients to gain a clearer understanding of the legal process.
Outside of work, Danielle loves travelling to new places and walking her dog, Bailey. She has also been involved in a lot of charity work, having previously been a charity trustee.
Recent Work Examples
- Successfully represented the executors of an estate in a three-day trial – Calvert v Calvert PT-2022-LIV-000016. It was alleged that the will had been procured through undue influence and fraudulent calumny.
- Obtained an order to strike out a claim against an estate due to procedural irregularities – Keilaus & Anor v Houghton & Anor [2024] EWHC 2108 (Ch).
- Successfully represented a claimant wife at an early neutral evaluation hearing. Claimant had been left out of her husband’s will.
- Obtained an order to remove the executor of an estate – the executor had been preferring one beneficiary over another and was thus failing to act in the interests of the estate.
- Successfully represented a claimant who had been left out of his mother’s will – he had an Inheritance Act claim and was seeking mediation.
- Assisted beneficiaries and executors with the interpretation of a homemade will.
- Brought proceedings for professional negligence during the will-drafting process; said negligence had resulted in the failure of a legacy.