SQE1 Wills and the Administration of Estates (FLK2): inheritance tax and revision

What does SQE1 Wills and the Administration of Estates cover?

Wills and the Administration of Estates is an FLK2 subject covering wills, intestacy, grants of representation, estate administration, family provision claims and taxation, including Inheritance Tax. The SRA blueprint allocates 14–20% of FLK2 to this subject, including Solicitors Accounts in the estates context. This percentage classifies questions by their main focus; the subject may also feature in questions assigned to other areas. (SRA, FLK2 specification) (SRA, SQE1 Annex 4)

Organise revision around the deceased’s documents, assets, family and liabilities. Then identify who can administer the estate, who should receive it and what tax questions arise. Our FLK1 and FLK2 subject guide places this work within the wider syllabus.

How is the subject assessed?

SQE1 uses closed-book single best answer questions with five options and one correct answer. Candidates apply fundamental rules to realistic client situations at the level of a newly qualified solicitor. Questions can combine FLK2 subjects, and Ethics and Professional Conduct is assessed throughout.(SRA, SQE1 Assessment Specification) From the January 2027 sitting, Wills and the Administration of Estates and Solicitors Accounts in the wills context appear in FLK2 session 1, mixed in random order with Trusts Law and Land Law; the blueprint proportions do not change. (SRA announcement, 10 September 2026) Practise identifying the person seeking advice and the decision required before comparing options. Our single best answer guide explains that routine.

Validity, changes and interpretation of wills

The specification covers testamentary capacity, knowledge and approval, duress, undue influence, execution formalities and the burden of proof in validity disputes. It also includes alterations before and after execution, codicils, revocation and the effects of marriage, civil partnership, divorce and dissolution. Interpretation includes different types of gift and why gifts fail. (SRA, FLK2 specification)

For ordinary execution under section 9 of the Wills Act 1837, the will must be in writing and signed by the testator or someone acting in their presence and at their direction. It must appear that the testator intended the signature to give effect to the will. The testator must sign or acknowledge the signature before at least two witnesses present together. Each witness must either attest and sign the will or acknowledge their signature in the testator’s presence, though the other witness need not be present at that stage. No particular form of attestation is required.(Wills Act 1837, s 9) Keep the signing sequence separate from capacity and knowledge and approval in your notes.

Intestacy and property outside the estate

Revise entitlement under the intestacy rules and the statutory trusts, alongside the treatment of joint property, life policies, pension benefits and trust property passing outside the estate.(SRA, FLK2 specification) Map the family relationships and identify the ownership or arrangement governing each asset before considering its destination.

Do not assume that passing outside the will means escaping Inheritance Tax. Property held as joint tenants passes automatically to the surviving owners, but the deceased’s share must still be considered when valuing the estate for tax. Property held as tenants in common does not pass automatically to the other owners.(GOV.UK, estate valuation) Keep succession and tax treatment in separate columns.

Grants and the administration process

The syllabus covers executor eligibility and suitability, renunciation and reservation of power. For grants, learn when a grant is needed, the applicant’s priority under the Non-Contentious Probate Rules, the application and supporting evidence. Distinguish probate, letters of administration with the will annexed and letters of administration. Include asset and liability valuations, excepted estates and funding the initial Inheritance Tax payment. (SRA, FLK2 specification)

Administration coverage follows the personal representatives’ work: securing assets, preserving value, collecting debts, bringing proceedings where necessary, paying expenses, selling assets to meet liabilities, distributing and accounting to beneficiaries. It includes liability and protection concerning creditors and unknown, missing or insolvent beneficiaries. (SRA, FLK2 specification) Build a checklist that links each task to its purpose and the information needed before proceeding.

Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 require separate revision of eligible applicants, the time limit, the ground for a claim and the factors considered by the court.(SRA, FLK2 specification) When reviewing a problem, distinguish a challenge to the will’s validity from a claim for financial provision.

Inheritance Tax: classify the transfer before calculating

The SRA includes immediately chargeable lifetime transfers, potentially exempt transfers, gifts with a reservation of benefit, transfers on death, exemptions, reliefs and anti-avoidance. It also requires the burden, liability and incidence of tax to be considered for personal representatives, beneficiaries, trustees and co-owners. (SRA, FLK2 specification)

• Potentially exempt transfers. An outright lifetime gift to another individual may qualify as a PET; a wholly exempt transfer is already exempt. (HMRC, potentially exempt transfers)Death within seven years makes a PET chargeable and brings it into cumulation with later transfers and the death estate. That does not ordinarily put the gifted asset back into the death estate.(HMRC, PETs followed by death)
• Trust transfers. Transferring assets into a trust can trigger Inheritance Tax during lifetime. Treatment depends on the trust, so do not classify every trust transfer as a PET.(GOV.UK, trusts and Inheritance Tax)
• Retained benefits. A gift with reservation can count towards the estate’s value because the donor continues to benefit. Taper relief, where applicable, reduces the tax on a lifetime gift; it does not reduce the gift’s value. (GOV.UK, Inheritance Tax on gifts)

For transfers on death, check the available tax-free threshold, any unused threshold transferable between spouses or civil partners, and the conditions for an increased threshold when a home passes to descendants. Business and agricultural relief can also affect the bill. (GOV.UK, Inheritance Tax overview) Build an exemption checklist covering spouse and civil partner transfers, charitable gifts, the annual exemption and normal expenditure out of income, recording the conditions for each. (GOV.UK, Inheritance Tax on gifts)

For practice calculations, build a dated transfer history. Identify exemptions and reliefs, apply the relevant cumulation rules, then calculate any tax and determine who pays. Keep the person liable for payment distinct from the person ultimately bearing the cost. The specification says required monetary values of tax exemptions and reliefs, rates and thresholds will be provided; candidates must know their availability and conditions. (SRA, SQE1 Assessment Specification)

Administration taxes, accounts and ethics

Tax revision also includes personal representatives’ Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax liabilities during administration, and beneficiaries’ Capital Gains Tax on inherited assets. (SRA, FLK2 specification) Label the taxpayer, asset and relevant period before calculating. Keep Solicitors Accounts practice alongside estate transactions and revisit ethical decisions: both accounts in the estates context and pervasive ethics form part of the assessment. (SRA, SQE1 Assessment Specification)

Revision pitfalls and how to practise

Watch for confusion between validity and entitlement, an executor’s position and a beneficiary’s position, and tax liability and the ultimate burden. Write down which question you are answering. With gifts, separate the asset’s destination, the transfer’s classification and the calculation; do not let a familiar tax figure determine your answer prematurely.

As a study routine, reconstruct the estate checklist from memory, then attempt focused questions on a weak topic. Record the decisive fact, rule and reason the nearest alternative fails. Check the cited authority, revisit errors later and mix wills, administration, tax and accounts. Our revision guide develops this approach. Check the SRA specification and your sitting’s law cut-off when updating notes. (SRA, SQE1 Assessment Specification)

Start with the free SQE1 quick test for mixed-subject practice. It provides a starting point rather than comprehensive assessment of this subject. See the SQE1 course page for coverage. This guide is study material, not legal advice.

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