Sarah McKinlay

Areas of practice
Tax, Finance & Investment
Charity & Third Sector Law, Private Client

Sarah is a Partner who specialises in succession planning, asset protection and capital tax mitigation (covering Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax).

She advises clients on the use of tax efficient wills and the creation and management of trusts, whether in lifetime or on death. She takes a proactive approach to the review of client affairs by providing a comprehensive overview of wills and trusts, Inheritance Tax (IHT) planning strategies (including maximising tax relief through Business Property Relief), pension benefits, life policies and the making of lifetime gifts.

Sarah provides advice to financial advisors, business owners and family lawyers on private client issues and works closely with Morton Fraser’s Family Law, Corporate and Financial Planning teams. She also has considerable experience in the administration of executries (including those with complex tax or foreign issues), incapacity issues, guardianship orders, powers of attorney, charities and partnerships.

Sarah helps clients with all aspects of their personal financial arrangements including ensuring there is sufficient protection for income and/or capital for the client and their dependents through to the making and ongoing management of investments to meet the clients needs and risk profile in the most tax efficient manner.

She has tutored taxation at the University of Edinburgh, speaks at external conferences and provides internal training updates. She holds a Financial Planning Certificate, is currently studying for the Diploma in Financial Planning and is a Notary Public and Writer to the Signet.

Sarah has been identified by the Chambers and Partners Guide 2012 to the Legal Profession as a leader in her field and "highly polished and technically very good, but still speaks a language her clients can understand".  Legal 500 describe her as “very polished and very good technically”.