Acting Where the Solicitor is a Beneficiary Under the Will

Introduction

A solicitor who drafts a will, administers an estate, advises on variations or acts as **professional executor** operates at the intersection of private family expectations, commercial pressures and a rigorous regulatory regime. The **SRA Standards and Regulations 2019** impose **seven Principles** and **two Codes of Conduct** (one for solicitors, one for firms), supplemented by the **Accounts Rules**. This chapter covers the small but heavily examined set of conduct problems that arise in Wills work: **identifying the client**, **managing conflicts**, **confidentiality after death**, **gifts to the solicitor**, **the solicitor as executor**, and the **money-laundering and safeguarding** regimes that apply to all private-client work.

Assessment focus

**FLK2** tests professional conduct by way of short scenarios in which a candidate must identify the **applicable Principle**, the **applicable Code paragraph**, and the **correct course of action**. Memorise the **seven SRA Principles**, the paragraph numbers of the **Code of Conduct for Solicitors**, and the **ordering when Principles conflict** (Principle 1 public interest; then 2 public trust; then 3 independence; then 4 honesty; then 5 integrity; then 6 E&D; then 7 best interests of the client). The most heavily tested Wills-specific conduct issues are: **(i)** gifts to the solicitor in a will (Code para 6.1 conflict rule and the 'significant gift' practice); **(ii)** the solicitor acting for both spouses who later have divergent instructions; **(iii)** confidentiality after death and the duty to the deceased's personal representatives; **(iv)** the source of funds and money-laundering obligations where significant cash is involved; and **(v)** improper execution where the solicitor has been entrusted with supervision of signing.

Study tips

1) Memorise the **seven SRA Principles** in their **priority order (1–7)** — Principle 1 (rule of law) outranks Principle 7 (best interests of the client). 2) Distinguish the **own-interest conflict (para 6.1, no consent exception)** from the **client-client conflict (para 6.2, two narrow exceptions with informed consent)**. 3) Remember that **confidentiality (para 6.3) survives the client's death** and passes to the **personal representatives** only for the administration of the estate. 4) On a **gift to the solicitor**, the rule is: **cease to act on that gift, refer the client to an independent firm**, then resume on the balance of the will. 5) **AML**: a **SAR** goes to the **NCA** under **s.330 POCA 2002**; never **tip off** the client (**s.333A POCA 2002**) — give a **holding response**, not a denial.