[James]

I think your concern over fair and reasonable is valid and I would expect your auditors and SRA to question it as not being a justifiable amount. If you had a probate matter with 10 beneficiaries you’d be charging £500 for an interest calculation that any good accounts system does at the click of a button, I’d view this as unfair retention of client funds and would expect issues to arise around artificial inflation of charges as irrespective of the number of beneficiaries you’re only doing one interest calculation

A couple with a sale file with £120 interest under the proposed two beneficiary charges would only receive £20 of the interest due to them likely leading to a complaint that will cost £400 when they go to he Legal Ombudsman who focus heavily on fairness. Worse would be if you charged multiple beneficiaries on one matter type i.e. probate and not conveyancing you would systematically be disadvantaging clients and destroying the justification for doing it in the first place

[James]

Provided a bill has been delivered to the executors and you are only transferring the amount on the client ledger, a part payment is acceptable.

In many probate matters, VAT will have been paid to HMRC long before estate funds begin to arrive, so transferring these payments can be important for firm cash flow.

You may wish to confirm with the matter handler that any secured liabilities and funeral expenses have been settled, as these rank ahead of legal fees in the statutory order of priority on insolvent estates which is considered best practice for dealing with all estates

[James]

You’re correct in your handling.

The client relationship is established with the living executor, they are the individuals who instruct the solicitor and are legally responsible for administering the estate, paying debts and taxes, and distributing assets to the beneficiaries making

[James]

As long as the purchase is progressing holding these funds is fine as there is a clear underlying transaction. If the purchase were to go abortive at any stage the funds would need to be returned promptly to the client

[Author]

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