We're hiring! if you'd like to join one of our award winning teams, read more on our Careers page.
Sarah Begley
Sarah is a Wills and Probate Executive and a member of our Private Client Team and has worked at Martin Tolhurst Solicitors since 2004. She deals with probate, estate administration, wills and lasting powers of attorney.
Sarah deals predominantly with probate and has a vast experience of complex intestacies often with large numbers of beneficiaries. Sarah and our probate teams hard work was recognised early in 2020 when we won Best Probate Law Firm for London and the South East at the UK Probate Research Awards 2020.
Having worked for the firm for a number of years Sarah has built up contacts with local organisations and enjoys meeting with them to give talks on the importance of having a will and Lasting Power of Attorney.
Sarah recently dealt with an interesting intestacy case where having obtained the grant of representation on behalf of a cousin, relatives with a prior claim to the estate being the half brother and half sisters were located by the genealogists. Therefore the existing grant of representation had to be revoked and a new grant was taken out by the newly found beneficiaries.
Read our recent Wills & Probate case studies.
What Sarah says:
“I started my training as a Legal Executive in London in 1983 with a small but prestigious Law firm in Gray’s Inn, London. I moved to a much larger firm after several years in order to expand my knowledge and experience overall in Private Client law and later expanded this even further with another legal firm in Bedford Row, London.
After raising my family, I joined Martin Tolhurst Solicitors in April 2004 and enjoy the variety of my role here – particularly the client interaction. Every day is different and I believe there is always room to learn something new.
I am a member of the Kent Law Society and regularly keep up to date with any changes in private client law. I see my clients at Longfield and other offices as required. If you are not able to come to the office I am happy to see clients in their own home or nursing home. My aim is to explain legal issues in a simple manner to my clients and not to overcomplicate. I receive a lot of positive feedback to this effect.
Outside of work I enjoy walking, trips to the theatre and reading. I love entertaining. Free time is precious to me as having 4 children and 3 grandchildren means that there is always somewhere to be or something to be done.”
If I were not a lawyer, I would be...
Running my own craft business, I have always been a creative person and when my children were younger and I was a full time mum this was something I was able to explore more fully. I love being involved in a project as you can immerge yourself in it and it is great for the soul.
If I were stranded on a desert island and could take three items with me, they would be…
Some Motown Music (a compilation disc as too many fantastic artists to mention!). I just love this type of music which is great for dancing. I would also bring something to read, I‘m a bit of a Game of Thrones fan and would like to reread these books as well as one of my all-time favourites The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald, the film version with Leonardo Di Caprio was spectacular but Robert Redford was the ultimate Jay Gatsby, a great tale of obsession and tragedy. And also my phone - I love a scroll!
Articles written by Sarah Begley:
Cutting someone out of your will