Practice Expertise

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Areas of Practice

  • Civil and Family Disputes
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Dispute Resolution and Litigation
  • Estate Planning
  • Family Office
  • Private Client
  • Private Trust Structures
  • Regulation of Trust Company Business
  • Regulatory
  • Relocating to the Cayman Islands
  • Relocation Services
  • Trust Litigation
  • Trusts and Private Wealth
  • Wills and Inheritance
  • View More

Profile

Bernadette is the head of our Cayman Islands trusts and private wealth team and has a broad private client practice advising on wealth structuring and estate planning matters including the creation of dynastic structures; the administration, restructuring, and termination of trusts; and probate and testamentary issues. She is also an experienced litigator in the private client space, regularly appearing before the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands on multi-party non-contentious applications and contentious trust disputes, as well as in respect of estate litigation and other cross-border private client disputes.



Bernadette regularly advises high net worth individuals, trustees, beneficiaries, family offices, executors, wealth managers, institutional clients, and onshore legal teams on all aspects of trusts and estates law in the Cayman Islands.



Bernadette is an elected member of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law (TIAETL), where membership to the global body is by invitation only. She is also an International Fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel (ACTEC), and a long-standing Council Member of the Cayman Islands branch of the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners (STEP). She is a director of the Cayman Islands Family Office Association, launched in 2022. Bernadette is the author of the Cayman Islands chapters of numerous private client text books, including "International Estate Planning: A Reference Guide" and "Trusts in Prime Jurisdictions". Bernadette was listed as a Global Elite Thought Leader in Who's Who Legal for Private Client. She is also ranked by both Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners High Net Worth, and features in the 2024 Private Client Global Elite Directory.


Areas of Practice

  • Civil and Family Disputes
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Dispute Resolution and Litigation
  • Estate Planning
  • Family Office
  • Private Client
  • Private Trust Structures
  • Regulation of Trust Company Business
  • Regulatory
  • Relocating to the Cayman Islands
  • Relocation Services
  • Trust Litigation
  • Trusts and Private Wealth
  • Wills and Inheritance

Professional Career

Significant Accomplishments
Recent Experience Types and uses of Cayman Islands law trusts22 Carey Olsen lawyers recognised in 2024 edition of The Legal 500 CaribbeanCarey Olsen attending International Private Client Tax Conference - navigating the private client world in turbulent timesCarey Olsen sponsors STEP Cayman 2024 Private Client Guide 2024 - Cayman Islands (Legal 500)Five chapters authored for Legal 500 Private Client guides, 2024Private Client Guide 2024 - British Virgin Islands (Legal 500)Carey Olsen sponsors Transcontinental Trusts: Bermuda 2024Make no mistake – Unwinding trustee errors in the Cayman IslandsCarey Olsen lawyers named among top private client advisers by Private Client Global EliteMuted voices: can beneficiaries of a STAR trust be empowered to play "devil's advocate" A Word on Trusts webinar - Wednesday 13 March 2024Carey Olsen attending IBA International Private Client Tax ConferenceCarey Olsen attending TIAETL annual meeting 2024A Word on Trusts webinar - 25 June 2024 Written in the STARs - blessing the exercise of an enforcer's powerBuilding bridges, not barriers: setting up Cayman trusts to minimise conflicts Proceed with caution: Continuation of foreign companies to the BVICarey Olsen leads offshore firms in Chambers High Net Worth 2024Managing family dynamics and supporting key stakeholders in a changing worldNothing lasts forever... or does it? New perpetuities legislation introduced in the Cayman IslandsCarey Olsen sponsors International Private Client Forum



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