Introduction to Wills and Estate Administration

Introduction

Every adult in England and Wales leaves behind an **estate** — the aggregate of everything they owned at death, minus everything they owed — which must be collected in, the debts and tax paid, and the balance distributed to those legally entitled. **Wills and the Administration of Estates** is the body of English law and practice that governs how all of that is done. This opening chapter maps the subject onto the **three practical phases** of a solicitor's work — **planning the will**, **obtaining the grant of representation**, and **administering the estate** — and introduces the principal **sources of law**, the core **technical vocabulary**, the solicitor's role across the three phases, and the **FLK2 assessment format**.

Assessment focus

For the SQE1 FLK2 assessment you must master this subject at the level of a **newly qualified solicitor in practice**: someone who can identify the legal issues correctly, apply the right rule, reach the right answer, and spot when a matter needs to be escalated. Of the 180 single best answer questions in FLK2, between roughly **18 and 24** are expected to fall within the Wills and Estates syllabus on any sitting; approximately **one-third** of those relate to **inheritance tax**, the single largest block. This introductory chapter is foundational: it establishes the **three-phase framework**, the **four principal statutes** (Wills Act 1837, Administration of Estates Act 1925, Inheritance Tax Act 1984 and the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975), and the **vocabulary** — Personal Representative, Grant of Representation, executor, administrator, legacy, devise, ademption, lapse — used throughout the rest of the book.

Study tips

1) When you read an FLK2 scenario, the **first question** to ask is: **which phase is this in?** Identifying the phase narrows the rule-set and avoids red herrings. 2) Learn the **four principal statutes** and what each governs — they supply roughly 80% of the law. 3) Remember the **solicitor's client is the PRs, not the beneficiaries** — the single most common conflict trap in FLK2. 4) Note the difference between an **executor** (authority from the will; title vests at death) and an **administrator** (authority from the grant alone; cannot act before the grant — *Ingall v Moran* [1944] KB 160). 5) Be alert to **time limits**: a claim under the I(PFD)A 1975 must be brought within six months of the **grant**, not the death. 6) Keep the **2025/26 IHT figures** at your fingertips and be aware of the **6 April 2026** BPR/APR allowance (£2.5 million combined) and the **6 April 2027** pensions reform.