SRA Samples

A firm of solicitors is acting on behalf of the executors of a will. The administration of the estate will be completed shortly and the executors have asked the firm to pay the legacies due under the will. As a separate matter the firm also acts for one of the beneficiaries of the will in connection with the beneficiary’s purchase of a property.

The beneficiary is entitled to a legacy of £20,000 from the will. The beneficiary intends to use this £20,000 legacy to repay the £2,000 the firm has already incurred in surveyor’s fees and searches (for which the firm has billed the beneficiary) and intends the balance of £18,000 to be retained by the firm as part of the purchase price.

Which of the following statements best explains the action the firm should take?

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