What does the SQE1 Wills and Administration of Estates section actually test?

Wills, intestacy, probate, and inheritance tax. The SRA assessment specification breaks Wills and Administration of Estates into 8 topics, each examined through single-best-answer (SBA) questions in the FLK2 paper.

Is Wills and Administration of Estates part of FLK1 or FLK2?

Wills and Administration of Estates sits in FLK2. From January 2027 the FLK2 paper is 170 single-best-answer questions (180 until July 2026), sat as two sessions of 85 questions, 2 hours 33 minutes each, on the same day.

How many topics are in Wills and Administration of Estates?

8. Our notes, flashcards, and question bank are mapped one-to-one against the SRA's WAE specification so nothing is missed.

How long should I spend on Wills and Administration of Estates?

Most candidates allocate roughly 24–40 hours across notes, flashcards, and timed practice. The exact split depends on your background — re-sitters can usually focus on weak topics rather than re-reading.

What is the best way to revise Wills and Administration of Estates?

Active recall beats re-reading. Read the notes once, then practise SBA questions in mixed order, then revisit weak topics. Our weak-area tracker surfaces the topics where your accuracy is below 70%.

Are these Wills and Administration of Estates SQE notes free?

The notes preview on this page and the sample topics are free, and the first chapter of the Wills and Administration of Estates study guide downloads free as a PDF and EPUB. The complete notes for all 8 topics come with lifetime access to the platform, and the whole subject is also available as a £9.99 study guide.

Are the Wills and Administration of Estates notes updated for the January 2027 specification?

Yes. The SRA's updated SQE1 specification applies from the January 2027 sitting, and the notes, questions and flashcards were revised against it in July 2026. Updates are included at no extra cost.

What is the difference between these notes and the Wills and Administration of Estates study guide?

Same content, two formats. The platform gives you the notes alongside the WAE question bank, flashcards and mock exams with progress tracking. The study guide is the Wills and Administration of Estates notes as a book, PDF and EPUB with a paperback edition, with worked questions and flashcards in every chapter, for £9.99.

Can I practise Wills and Administration of Estates questions without paying?

Yes. The free readiness quiz includes a sample from every subject, and free accounts can access sample questions across all subjects. The full WAE question bank is unlocked with a one-time lifetime purchase and is covered by the 14-day money-back guarantee.

WAEFLK2 · 8 topics

Wills and Administration of Estates SQE notes.

Wills, intestacy, probate, and inheritance tax. Below: a preview of the notes, all 8 topics, sample questions with worked explanations, and the first chapter of the Wills and Administration of Estates study guide to download free, all mapped to the SRA’s FLK2 specification.

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Free sample chapter

The first chapter of the Wills and Administration of Estates study guide, with five worked questions, as a PDF and EPUB. The full guide is £9.99 on its own, and every subject is included with lifetime access.

From the notes

Topic 01: Introduction to Wills and Intestacy

How the Wills and Administration of Estates notes read. Every one of the 8 topics is written the same way: the rule, the trap the examiners set, and a worked question.

Wills are fundamental to private client work. As a solicitor, you will help clients express their final wishes, protect their families, and ensure their assets are distributed according to their intentions. Getting it right provides peace of mind. Getting it wrong can cause family disputes and financial hardship.

Choose who inherits your assets
Appoint guardians for your children
Specify funeral wishes
Create trusts for vulnerable beneficiaries

Wills are Foundational: A properly drafted will is one of the most valuable gifts you can give your clients. It provides certainty, reduces family conflict, and can save significant tax. Many clients delay making a will - your role is to guide them through the process sensitively and professionally.

Full notes for all 8 topics are included with lifetime access, or as the Wills and Administration of Estates study guide (£9.99).

All 8 topics in Wills and Administration of Estates

SRA-aligned

01
Introduction to Wills and Intestacy
Validity of wills, testamentary capacity, formal requirements, and intestacy rules
Free
02
Drafting and Executing Wills
Will drafting, clauses, and execution procedures
03
Alterations, Revocation and Revival
Changing and revoking wills, revival of revoked wills
04
Interpretation of Wills
Construing wills, failed gifts, and ademption
05
Grants of Representation
Probate, letters of administration, and application procedures
06
Administration of Estates
Personal representatives' duties and estate administration
07
Inheritance Tax
IHT on lifetime transfers and death, exemptions and reliefs
08
Claims, Trusts and Post-Administration
1975 Act claims, consequent trusts, and beneficiary rights

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4 sample WAE questions

Real SBA questions from the Wills and Administration of Estates bank, with the full explanation. The paid bank covers all 8 topics and difficulty levels.

A man signs his will at his kitchen table in front of two neighbours, who both watch him sign. The first neighbour signs the will as a witness there and then, in the room with him. The second neighbour is called back to her own house for a few minutes and returns after the first neighbour has gone home. She then signs the will at the same table while the man sits watching her. The will is in order in every other respect.

Is the will validly executed, given that the second neighbour signed after the first had left?

Yes, because the man signed the will in the presence of both neighbours at the same time.
Yes, because each neighbour signed in the man's presence, and witnesses need not sign in each other's presence. Correct
No, because both witnesses must add their signatures before either of them leaves the testator's presence.
No, because the two witnesses must sign the will in the presence of each other as well as the testator.
No, because a witness who signs some minutes after the testator has signed does not attest contemporaneously.

Why: The correct answer is B. Section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 requires the testator to sign, or acknowledge his signature, in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time, and then requires each witness to attest and sign the will, or acknowledge his signature, in the presence of the testator — but, in the words of section 9(d), "not necessarily in the presence of any other witness". Both neighbours were present together when the man signed, and each of them signed while he was watching, so the will is validly executed even though the first witness had gone home before the second signed. A is incorrect because it identifies a requirement that is satisfied but not the one in issue: signing in front of both witnesses is not enough on its own, because each witness must also sign in the testator's presence. C is incorrect because there is no rule that both witnesses must sign before either of them leaves; each need only sign while the testator is present. D is incorrect because section 9(d) expressly dispenses with the presence of the other witness. E is incorrect because attestation need not follow immediately; a short interval does not matter provided the witness signs in the testator's presence.

A man makes a will leaving £5,000 to his next-door neighbour, £20,000 to his sister and the rest of his estate to his daughter. He signs it in front of the neighbour and the neighbour's adult son, who are the only other people there. Both of them then sign the will as witnesses while he watches. Nothing else about the execution is open to question. After the man's death the neighbour asks his executors to pay her the £5,000.

Can the neighbour claim the £5,000 legacy given to her by the man's will?

Yes, because the will was duly executed and the gift to her therefore takes effect with the rest of it.
Yes, because a witness loses a gift only if she also helped to prepare the will.
Yes, because the disqualification applies to the spouse of a witness rather than to the witness herself.
No, because a gift to a person who attests the will is void, although the will itself stays valid. Correct
No, because her attestation invalidates the whole will, so the estate passes under the intestacy rules.

Why: The correct answer is D. Section 15 of the Wills Act 1837 makes a beneficial gift to a person who attests the execution of a will utterly void so far as that witness is concerned, and the same applies to a gift to the witness's spouse or civil partner. The rest of the will is unaffected, so the sister and the daughter take as directed and the £5,000 falls into the residue. Section 1 of the Wills Act 1968 saves such a gift where the will is duly executed without the attesting beneficiary, that is, where at least two other witnesses have signed; but here the neighbour was one of only two witnesses, so her attestation was necessary and the saving provision cannot apply. A is incorrect because due execution is what triggers section 15: the will is valid but the gift to the attesting witness is not. B is incorrect because section 15 turns on attestation, not on who prepared the will; a beneficiary who drafts a will raises a separate question of knowledge and approval. C is incorrect because section 15 catches the attesting witness as well as that witness's spouse or civil partner. E is incorrect because the will remains valid and only the gift to the witness fails, so no intestacy arises.

A soldier aged 17 is deployed on operations overseas with his regiment. Before going out on patrol he writes out a short document giving everything he owns to his younger sister, signs it, and has two other soldiers sign it after watching him sign. He is killed two days later. His mother, who would take his estate had he died without a will, says the document can have no effect because her son was still a minor when he made it.

What advice should the sister be given about the validity of the document?

It is invalid, because no one under 18 can make a will and the exception applies only to merchant seamen.
It is invalid, because a person under 18 may make a will only with the consent of a parent.
It is invalid, because a will made by a minor takes effect only if the court later approves it.
It is valid, because he signed it and two witnesses saw him do so, as the law requires.
It is valid, because a soldier in actual military service may make a will although he is under 18. Correct

Why: The correct answer is E. Section 7 of the Wills Act 1837 provides that a will made by a person under 18 is invalid, but section 11 of the same Act preserves the privileged will: a soldier in actual military service, or a mariner or seaman at sea, may dispose of his estate as he could have done before the Act. Section 1 of the Wills (Soldiers and Sailors) Act 1918 declares that section 11 has always authorised such a testator to do so although under age, and section 3 of the 1918 Act extends the privilege to land. A soldier deployed on operations is in actual military service, so this is a valid will even though he was 17 — and it would have been valid even without the two witnesses, because a privileged will need not comply with section 9 and may even be made orally. A is incorrect because the privilege is not confined to seafarers; it extends to a soldier in actual military service. B is incorrect because a parent cannot consent on a minor's behalf to the making of a will. C is incorrect because there is no procedure by which a court validates a minor's will; the statutory privilege either applies or it does not. D is incorrect because compliance with the ordinary formalities cannot cure the age bar in section 7; it is the privilege that saves this will.

A man instructs a solicitor to prepare his will. Asked what he owns, he lists his house, the workshop behind it, a van, two savings accounts and a pension, leaving nothing out. He cannot say what any of them is worth, and when asked to estimate he puts the whole estate at about £200,000. It is in fact worth close to £700,000, most of the difference being the rise in the value of his house. He is otherwise alert and answers every question clearly.

Does the man understand the extent of his property, as testamentary capacity requires?

Yes, because he can list every asset he owns, and nothing further is ever required of a testator.
Yes, because he appreciates in general terms what he owns; the test does not require him to know values. Correct
No, because he has underestimated the value of the estate he is disposing of by a very wide margin.
No, because a testator must obtain a valuation of each asset before giving instructions for a will.
No, because his misjudgment shows he cannot appreciate the claims of those who might expect to benefit.

Why: The correct answer is B. The second limb of Banks v Goodfellow (1870) requires the testator to understand the extent of the property he is disposing of. That means a general appreciation of what he owns, not a precise inventory or a knowledge of values: a testator who can identify his assets in broad terms has enough understanding, and the fact that he misjudges what they are worth does not defeat capacity. This man lists everything he owns and has simply not kept up with what his house is now worth. A is incorrect because it overstates the position: understanding the extent of the property is a real requirement, and a testator who could not say even in general terms what he owned would fail this limb. C is incorrect because his misjudgment concerns value rather than extent, and value is not what this limb tests. D is incorrect because there is no requirement to obtain valuations; they may be prudent where the estate is complex or a challenge is expected, but they are not a condition of capacity. E is incorrect because appreciating the claims of potential beneficiaries is a separate, third limb, and nothing in his misjudgment of value suggests that he cannot weigh those claims.

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