Introduction
John has a first-class degree from the University of Cambridge. He achieved an Outstanding at Bar School and a Distinction for the GDL. He has won numerous scholarships and awards, including the Louis Gluckstein Advocacy Prize.
John is a Business & Property barrister and mediator who specialises in property, wills, trusts & probate. He is a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
John is married with a young daughter. In his spare time, he enjoys learning languages and playing golf and the piano badly. Before coming to the Bar, John was a Church of England minister.
Contentious Wills, Trust & Probate
John frequently acts in claims where wills are challenged on the grounds of incapacity, undue influence or fraudulent calumny. He has resolved numerous probate, TOLATA, Inheritance Act and proprietary estoppel claims at trial and mediation. He enjoys advising on technical points of law relating to the construction and effect of wills and trusts.
Examples of recent work include:
- Deducing title to farmland out of which various transfers and assents had been made by successive generations, and obtaining a declaration of what land had been settled in two will trusts.
- Advising on the merits of applying under s.71(3) of the Solicitors Act 1974 for an assessment of costs charged by a solicitor administering an estate on behalf of a lay executor.
- Advising on the effect of a legacy to a charitable trust which was de-registered shortly after the testator died.
- Obtaining orders under s.50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985 for the appointment of substitute personal representatives.
- Drafting probate claims and securing settlements at mediation.
- Drafting deeds for the removal and appointment of trustees.
Real Estate
John often acts in cases concerning trusts of land, farming partnerships, and conveyancing negligence. He particularly enjoys dealing with disputes over boundaries, adverse possession, rights of way and covenants which require a close examination of historic conveyances.
Examples of recent work include:
- Successfully appealing a First-tier Tribunal order in an adverse possession application on behalf of direct access clients. (The Upper Tribunal decision has general application in relation to lawn maintenance as an act of factual possession in adverse possession claims).
- Drafting points of claim to intervene in financial remedy proceedings between a divorcing couple on behalf of their children who claim proprietary estoppel in relation to various companies and properties.
- Advising on the construction and enforceability of a restrictive covenant which arguably prevented the laying of service media under land which was purchased by a local authority for the development of regional transport infrastructure.
Tax
John is a full member of STEP and has taken the STEP Advanced Certificate in the Taxation of Trusts & Estates. He often advises on IHT and CGT issues.
Examples of recent work include:
- Assisting executors to obtain a £1m IHT refund on the basis that a relevant property trust declared by the deceased during his lifetime had not been properly constituted and the rule in Strong v Bird did not apply.
- Calculating what sums should be distributed to charitable and non-exempt residuary beneficiaries and what interest was due to be refunded.
- Advising on the abatement of different classes of legacies and the resulting apportionment of IHT.
- Calculating the value of a transferable RNRB and the downsizing addition.
- Advising on the tax consequences of determining an interest in possession in a farm during the lifetime of the life tenant.
- Advising on whether s.142(1) of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 would apply to a proposed second deed of variation of a will and drafting the deed in an appropriate form.
Commercial, Professional Negligence & Partnership
John’s expertise ranges from claims involving misrepresentation, limitation and unjust enrichment to professional negligence in the context of conveyancing, wills and trusts. He also has experience of partnership claims for accounts & enquiries, dissolution and winding up.
Examples of recent work include:
- Advising on limitation issues where a farming partnership was being carried on by the children of two deceased partners and there was a dispute over the assets and terms of the partnership.
- Advising on misrepresentation and professional negligence in relation to the purchase of a flat with unsafe cladding.
- Drafting a conversion claim arising from the destruction of hundreds of cars in a scrap yard by a landlord acting as an involuntary bailee.
- Assisting to settle a professional negligence claim against a conveyancing solicitor who had failed to make sufficient enquiries about whether a new build home had been built too close to an existing mains water pipe.
Insolvency and Restructuring
John is experienced in claims at the intersection between property and insolvency. This includes advising on forfeiture, disclaimers, bona vacantia/escheat and vesting orders.
Examples of recent work include:
- Advising on the merits of a vesting application by the personal representative of a deceased shareholder of a company which had been dissolved decades earlier while it retained title to residential land.
- Drafting claims on behalf of sub-tenants for vesting orders in respect of headleases which have been disclaimed either by liquidators or the Crown.
- Advising on a claim to re-register a charge under para. 2(1)(a) or (b) of Schedule 4 of the Land Registration Act 2002 on the grounds that the DS1 which discharged it was void or voidable because it was either a transaction at an undervalue or a transaction intended to prejudice the interest of creditors.
Mediation
John was accredited as a CMC Associate Mediator in 2026.
He regards mediation as the best way to bring many disputes to an end on the parties’ own terms without the costs, stress, delay and heightened animosity which are often associated with court proceedings.
Reported Cases
High Court
- Whitburn Estates Ltd v (1) Thirteen Homes Ltd; (2) DWF Law Ltd [2026] EWHC 1256 (Ch) (waiver, estoppel and return of a deposit in the context of a conditional contract of sale).
- Baker v Hewston [2023] EWHC 1145 (Ch) (contains a detailed re-examination of the relationship between Banks v Goodfellow and the Mental Capacity Act 2005).
- Euro Securities and Finance Ltd v Barrett [2023] EWHC 51 (Ch) (contains significant obiter guidance on the meaning of “in the presence of a witness” and “attests” in s.1(3)(a) LP(MP)A 1989).
- Khan v Mahmood [2021] EWHC 597 (Ch) (a notable appellate decision on the perfection of imperfect gifts)
- (1) Kirkbright; (2) Kirkbright v Toseva [2021] EWHC 2320 (TCC) (proprietary estoppel and contracts for the sale of land)
- Quadro Services Limited v Creagh Concrete Products Limited [2021] EWHC 2637 (TCC)
Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber)
- Dobson v Unsted [2026] UKUT 93 (LC) (of general application in relation to lawn maintenance as an act of factual possession in adverse possession claims)
First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)
- Davison v Weir REF/2023/0436 (boundary dispute & adverse possession)
- Kenyon v Emery REF/2002/0233 (adverse possession)
- Liddle v The Incumbent of the Ashfords BeneficeREF/2022/0368 (applied the 30-year limitation period enjoyed by spiritual corporations sole under s.15(7) Limitation Act 1980 to defeat an adverse possession claim to part of a churchyard)
- City & Country Properties Ltd v Birmingham City Council REF/2020/0209 (the defence of “highway maintainable at public expense” was raised to defeat an adverse possession claim)
- (1) Tucker; (2) Hill v (1) Campbell; (2) Campbell REF/2020/0309 (boundary dispute & adverse possession)
- ANG Properties Limited v Boston REF/2019/0780 (cancellation of restriction)
- Greenbelt Group Limited v (1) Lane; (2) Bourne BIR/OOCS/LIS/2018/0028 (service charges)
Qualifications
- Bar Professional Training Course (Outstanding) BPP
- Graduate Diploma in Law (Distinction) BPP
- MPhil Philosophy of Religion & Ethics University of Cambridge
- BA Theology (1st) University of Cambridge
- BA Law (2:1) University of Oxford
Professional Courses
- STEP Advanced Certificate in the Taxation of Trusts & Estates (2024)
- STEP Advanced Certificate in Will Preparation (2024)
- STEP Advanced Certificate in the Administration of Trusts (2023)
- STEP Advanced Certificate in the Administration of Estates (2023)
- Certificate in Insolvency Law (2017)
Scholarships
- Louis Gluckstein Advocacy Prize Lincoln’s Inn
- Tancred Studentship Lincoln’s Inn
- Excellence Award BPP University
- Lord Brougham Scholarship Lincoln’s Inn
- Hardwicke Entrance Award Lincoln’s Inn
- Wordsworth MPhil Grant Cambridge Divinity Faculty
- 1912 Senior Scholarship Cambridge University
- Nick Clarke Prize Cambridge University
Professional Associations
- Lincoln’s Inn
- Full member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP)
- Civil Mediation Council (CMC) Associate Mediator
- Member of the Midlands Chancery & Commercial Bar Association (MCCBA)
- Worcester Law Society member
What the directories say
“John is an excellent counsel. He has a high level of attention to detail and understanding, and can advise on complex issues in language which is easy to understand.” Chambers and Partners 2026
“John is responsive and is making a name for himself in contentious trusts and probate. He is practical and turns things around quickly. I rate him highly.” Chambers and Partners 2026
“John has provided excellent and detailed advice on some very complex property issues. Despite the complexity, he has helped us find a practical solution for the client.” Chambers and Partners 2026
“John Aldis is user-friendly and very intelligent. He will research things if you need him to. He’s a very likeable individual and easy to get on with.” Chambers and Partners 2026
“John Aldis is a very strong junior barrister, intelligent, with a great eye for detail.” Chambers and Partners 2026
“John has many strengths, in particular, the quality of his pleadings and advocacy. His ability to react and think on his feet is particularly impressive. John’s style of advocacy is calm and measured, and his attention to detail is excellent.” Legal 500 2026
“John’s attention to detail is second to none. His technical knowledge makes him the standout choice in most probate cases. Equally, he is unflappable and able to conduct the case in front of the judge efficiently and with ease.” Legal 500 2026
“John is an excellent litigator. He tailor-makes his arguments and expresses them in a clear and concise manner. He has a very detailed approach to work.” Legal 500 2025
“John has a fantastic eye for detail, is very methodical and clearly explains matters when in conference with clients. He is a fantastic advocate who makes clear and salient points.” Legal 500 2025
“John is very thorough and well-reasoned. He is a careful and effective advocate with in-depth knowledge of the relevant evidence and applicable law.” Legal 500 2024
“John has an excellent, analytical mind, with a calm and measured demeanour. He patiently and skilfully deals with witnesses who ramble in evidence and adroitly reveals the flaws in that evidence.” Legal 500 2023
