Toby Graham

Partner

Toby leads Farrer & Co’s Contentious Trusts and Estates group and has over 30 years’ experience handling disputes involving trusts and estates. His cases are many and varied, ranging from domestic estate/probate claims to trust or estate disputes with international elements sometimes involving parallel proceedings in London and offshore jurisdictions. He has been involved in many leading cases, including Weisfisch, Alhamrani and Rybolovlev. He is consistently recognised by the major legal directories as a leading practitioner in this area.

Over the course of Toby’s career, trust and estate disputes have grown in number, value and complexity. This stems in large part from the growing number and scale of UHNW families whose personal and business affairs are structured through complex vehicles which are heavily dependent on the patriarch; his or her departure creates a vacuum leaving uncertainty and confusion.

Frequently, trust and estate disputes require experts in related fields such as tax, divorce and family provision and charity law. Farrer & Co is recognised for expertise in such related fields and the firms prides itself on its collaborative culture.

Toby was editor of Trusts & Trustees (published by OUP) between 2008 and 2024. He a member of the advisory board of the International Tax Planning Association, winner of the STEP outstanding achievement award, Private Client Lawyer of Year (Who’s Who Legal), member of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law and is author of the STEP Trust disputes course and other titles.

Recognitions

The Legal 500 2026

Contentious Trusts and Probate

Hall of Fame

Chambers HNW 2025

Private Wealth Disputes

Band 1

Reported Cases

Weissfisch v Julius and others: [2006] EWCA 218
Alhamrani v Alhamrani
Re Patarkatsishvilli, Deceased
Rybolovleva v Rybolovlev
Q v Q [2010] SC (Bda) 40 Civ
Wingate v Butterfield Trust (Bermuda) Limited [2008] WTLR 543
Gomez v Gomez-Monche Vives: [2008] EWHC 259 (Ch) and [2008] EWCA Civ 1065
Stiftung Salle Modulable et al -v- Butterfield Trust [2014] SC (Bda) 13 Com.
Kea v Watson [2018] EWHC 2016 (Ch), [2019] EWCA 1759, [2022] EWHC 5 (Ch)

Memberships & Accolades

Toby has been ranked for ten years as Band 1 of Chambers and Partners’ HNW Private Wealth Disputes coverage, and is ranked in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame for Private Client: Contentious Trusts and Probate. He was ranked Private client lawyer of the year by Who’s who Legal.

Toby is a member of:

STEP (former Chair of the Trust and Estates Special Interest Group; author of the STEP Trust Disputes Course; co-editor of the STEP Estates Disputes Course)
The Advisory Board of the International Tax Planning Association
The International Academy of Estate and Trust Law
The Editorial Board of Wills and Estates Law Reports
The Trust Law Committee

Publications

Editor of Trusts & Trustees (published by Oxford University Press) from 2007 to 2024 and now Editor Emeritus
Co-editor of A Practical Guide to the Transfer of Trusteeships (3rd edition, published by Globe Law and Business)
Author of the course notes for the STEP Certificate in Trust Disputes
Author and co-editor of the course notes for the STEP Certificate in Contentious Estates
Editor of the International Guide to Money Laundering Law and Practice (2nd edition, Butterworths)
Co-author (with Nicholas Elliott KC and Evan Bell) of Money Laundering (2003, Butterworths Compliance Series)

Testimonials

"Toby Graham has a unique level of knowledge and experience of trusts law and the world of trusts and trustees. He also has a laser focus on the needs and wishes of the client, and marshals large teams effectively to ensure those needs and wishes are pursued in the most effective way." (The Legal 500 2026)

"Toby Graham is universally recognised as [one] of the top contentious trusts and probate litigators in England, and in the offshore trust jurisdictions." (The Legal 500 2026)

"Toby is definitely one of the top people in the field. He has a huge amount of experience and knowledge and understanding of the trust market. A really good strategic thinker with a real client focus." (Chambers HNW 2025)

"Toby is in a class of his own. A superb litigator with a brilliant legal mind and impeccable bedside manner. You don’t want him on the other side. " (Chambers HNW 2025)

"Toby Graham is brilliant at moving a case forward, and despite his seniority will get his hands dirty in the detail." (Legal 500 2025)

"Toby Graham is tenacious and methodical holding years of private client trust and probate litigation experience. Toby is an outstanding leader in the private client trust and probate litigation realm." (Legal 500 2025)

"I've been extraordinarily impressed by his savvy and tactical grasp. He instils massive confidence in the clients, he has got good judgement and he's very committed." (Chambers HNW 2024)

"Toby is a superb solicitor at the top of this field. He is extremely focused on the needs and wishes of the client and works hard and intelligently to deliver on them. He would be my go-to partner in this field." (Chambers HNW 2023)

"Toby Graham is a stellar litigator, with a habit of identifying left-field arguments which advance cases very significantly." (Chambers HNW 2023)

"Toby Graham is one of the best known partners in this field – he is hands on, really knows his trust law, has great judgment and is very good at managing very large scale litigation." (Legal 500 2023)

A Question of Trust

Loss of capacity of those involved in trusts is an increasingly prevalent legal issue, and a growing cause of disputes. In this video series, we bring together international experts to explore the issue of capacity, how to mitigate risk, pragmatically address this sensitive topic, and provide practical insights and guidance for fiduciaries.

WATCH NOW