002 · THE PEOPLE
You will have the same solicitor for the whole of it.
A private client relationship runs for years, and it often passes to the next generation. Here is who you would be dealing with, what each of us does, and what we are known for.
003 · THE PARTNERS
Three solicitors, and no handovers between them.
SENIOR PARTNER · 31 YEARS
Margaret Ashcombe
Margaret joined the firm in 1995 and took over from her father the same year. She has run probate here since, and she handles the estates that are contested, which means the ones where a family has stopped speaking. She is calm in a room where nobody else is. Most of her clients came to her because their parents did, and she still writes to each of them by hand when a file closes.
Known for contested estates, and for being the person a family can agree to ring.
PARTNER · 18 YEARS
Duncan Rowe
Duncan looks after trusts and the tax that sits around them. He came to Ashcombe from a larger firm in Southampton in 2008 because he wanted to know his clients by their first names, and he does. He is the one who will tell you that the trust you have been sold is not needed, and what to do instead. He explains inheritance tax in a way people still remember on the drive home.
Known for trusts and inheritance tax, explained once and understood.
ASSOCIATE · 9 YEARS
Priya Nandra
Priya handles lasting powers of attorney and the Court of Protection, which is the work that begins when someone can no longer decide for themselves. She is the solicitor the care homes in Winchester ring first, because she visits, she sits down, and she does not rush anyone. She qualified here in 2017 and has not wanted to be anywhere else. Families who meet her once tend to ask for her by name.
Known for lasting powers of attorney, and for visiting rather than sending a form.
004 · HOW WE WORK
Four things we do that most firms do not
01
We answer the phone
Between nine and half past five a person answers, and it is usually the person handling your file. If they are with someone, you are given a time they will ring back, and they do.
02
We tell you the cost before we start
You get a figure in writing before any work begins. If something is likely to move it, you hear from us the same day, not on the invoice.
03
We write after every conversation
Every call and every meeting is followed by a short letter or email saying what was decided and what happens next. You never have to hold it in your head on your own.
04
We say when we are not the right firm
Some work we do not do, and some we do not do well enough. If that is what you need, we will say so and give you the name of someone who does.
005 · IN THEIR WORDS
Nobody rushed us. Margaret told us on the first call what she could not know yet, and that is why we stayed with her for three years.
A daughter, on her mother’s estate · Winchester · 2025
006 · TALK TO SOMEONE
Ring us before you start filling anything in.
Most of the mistakes we untangle were made in the first fortnight, by people trying to be helpful. One call tells you what needs doing now, what can wait, and what it is likely to cost.
TALK TO SOMEONE