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Monika Byrska is a fantastic hire. She is one of the best estates and trusts litigators practicing today. Monika combines a deep knowledge of estates and trusts litigation and administration with thorough forensic analysis, excellent judgment and devastating negotiating prowess.

Legal 500 2023
About

Monika Byrska is a bilingual solicitor specialising in trust, will and estate disputes. 

Monika advises in all types of private client disputes. This includes: will challenges, Inheritance Act claims, disputes relating to the administration of estates, actions against trustees and personal representatives, promissory estoppel claims, trust disputes between co-owners of a property, and application for directions in administration of trusts and estates. 

As a STEP-qualified practitioner, she is uniquely qualified to assist with both contentious and non-contentious aspects of trust and estate administration. She therefore also represents personal representatives and trustees advising on the administration of trusts and estates, which are complex or entangled in disputes. 

As Monika often meets clients when they are going through their most difficult times, she aims to put them at ease with her straightforward and compassionate approach. She has passion and years of experience in resolving what may seem to be the most impossible disputes over wealth.  

She is bilingual and able to service clients in Polish. With a background in linguistics and interpretation, Monika also has a working knowledge of a couple other European languages. 

She is a full member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS) and an associate member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). She holds a STEP Advanced Certificate in Administration of Estates, Advanced Certificate in Cross Border Estates and Advanced Certificate in Trust Disputes. She is also a member of the STEP Contentious Trusts and Estates Special Interest Group and ConTrA, a network for Contentious Trusts Associates. 

Recent work
  • Secured funds for a client whose entitlement to benefit from a Lichtenstein Foundation was being denied by opponents in two jurisdictions.
  • Successfully challenged four different wills (including three foreign wills) all made in the space of 18 months. 
  • Acted for trustees in an application aiming to void decisions they have made previously and which have turned out to have hugely disadvantageous effect for the trust and its beneficiaries. 
  • Assisted an unmarried same-sex partner of a celebrity to access funds the deceased partner would have wanted them to have.
  • Removed and replaced an executor who was taking too long to administer the estate. 
  • Assisted a child born out of wedlock in getting access to funds from the wealth of their father, in circumstances where the wife and other children of the deceased did not know about the extramarital affair.  
Accolades

 

  • Listed as Leading Individual, Private client: Contentious Trusts and Probate, Legal 500 2024
  • "Monika Byrska is a fantastic hire. She is one of the best estates and trusts litigators practicing today." Legal 500 2024
  • "Monika combines a deep knowledge of estates and trusts litigation and administration with thorough forensic analysis, excellent judgment and devastating negotiating prowess." Legal 500 2024
  • "Monika Byrska might be the most capable negotiator I’ve encountered. She is accomplished at all she does yet remains friendly and humble." Legal 500 2024
  • Ranked Up and coming, Private Wealth Disputes, Chambers HNW 2023
  • "She is hard-working and very thorough." Chambers HNW 2023
  • "Monika is really making a splash after moving to Howard Kennedy." Chambers HNW 2023
  • "She is a very safe pair of hands." Chambers HNW 2023
  • Listed as a Key Lawyer, Private client: Contentious Trusts and Probate, Legal 500 2023
  • "Monika Byrska is a fantastic hire. She is one of the best estates and trusts litigators practicing today. Monika combines a deep knowledge of estates and trusts litigation and administration with thorough forensic analysis, excellent judgment and devastating negotiating prowess." Legal 500 2023
  • "Monika Byrska was a great hire. She is trilingual and brings an international view to the team for its increasingly large overseas client base." Legal 500 2023
  • Listed as a Citywealth Leader 

 

Did you know
Monika has a love of languages and also enjoys dance and hiking.

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