Sophie Ashford

Sophie Ashford is an associate in our leading Wills, Probate, Tax & Trusts team and advises clients from our Reading, Wokingham and Henley-on-Thames offices, as well as remotely.

Sophie deals with the preparation of Wills, estate and inheritance tax planning, probate and estate administration and drafting lasting powers of attorney (LPAs). She is a trained Dementia Friend, an Alzheimer's Society initiative.

Sophie specialises in agricultural matters including Wills, estate and Inheritance Tax planning and estate administration. Before joining the firm, she trained and practised in rural mid‑Wales for several years, gaining extensive experience supporting farming families and landowners.

Sophie joined Blandy & Blandy in 2024, having previously worked at firms in Wales. She became an associate solicitor in 2025.

Examples of recent work

• Acting in the administration of multiple agricultural estates and successfully claiming Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR).
•  Successfully negotiating a higher percentage of the qualifying agricultural value of a farmhouse in an agricultural estate with the Valuation Office Agency/District Valuer.
• Advising clients on Wills to incorporate suitable trusts to provide sufficient provision and protection for disabled/vulnerable beneficiaries.
• Preparing an application for a Grant on Credit where there were insufficient cash assets in an estate to settle the Inheritance Tax liability.
• Liaising and negotiating with the Valuation Office Agency to agree a probate valuation of a high value property.
• Acting in the administration of an estate where lifetime ‘Loan Trusts’ and ‘Discounted Gift Trusts’ had been created by the deceased.
• Advising a family on the preparation of a Deed of Variation of a Will to minimise exposure to Inheritance Tax.