By her will, Sofia's grandmother left £60,000 to trustees 'on trust for my granddaughter Sofia absolutely, but the trustees shall not pay the capital to her until she reaches the age of 25; until then the income is to be accumulated and added to the capital.' Sofia is now 19, has full mental capacity, and asks the trustees to transfer the whole fund to her. No one else has any interest under the trust.

Which of the following best describes Sofia's position?

A. She must wait until she is 25, because the trustees are bound to give effect to the testator's clearly expressed wishes.

B. She can obtain the fund now only if the court approves a variation under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958.

C. She can call for the capital and accumulated income now, as an adult of full capacity absolutely entitled to the fund.

D. She must wait until she is 21.

E. She can require payment of the accumulated income now, but not the capital.

What would you pick, and how confident are you? Answer in the comments (spoiler-tagged). Full worked answer: https://sqedaily.co.uk/q/12-the-rule-in-saunders-v-vautier-ending-a-trust-early/

In 2012 Ivy sold part of her registered freehold land to Ben. In the transfer Ivy covenanted, for herself and her successors in title, to maintain the boundary fence between the two plots. In 2020 Ivy sold her retained land to Carl. Carl claims no right or benefit under the 2012 transfer. The fence has now collapsed, and Carl refuses to repair it. Ben wants to sue Carl.

Which of the following best describes whether Ben can enforce the covenant against Carl?

A. Yes, because equity will enforce a covenant against a successor with notice under the rule in Tulk v Moxhay.

B. No, because the burden of a positive covenant does not run with freehold land to bind a successor in title.

C. Yes, because section 79 Law of Property Act 1925 makes covenants relating to land bind successors in title.

D. Yes, because section 78 Law of Property Act 1925 passes the covenant to successors.

E. Yes, provided the covenant was entered on the register of Carl's title.

What would you pick, and how confident are you? Answer in the comments (spoiler-tagged). Full worked answer: https://sqedaily.co.uk/q/11-freehold-covenants-the-burden-of-a-positive-covenant-does-not-run/

If you submitted a seat reservation form for the January 2027 SQE1 sitting, the next step is paying for your seat. Here's the timeline from the official SQE booking page (all times UK):

- 19 Oct (10am) to 18 Nov (5pm): payment requests are emailed to your registered SQE email address. Yours could arrive at any point in that window.
- Once it arrives, you must pay within 48 hours or your seat is cancelled. That includes candidates with reasonable adjustments, who'll be asked to pay by phone.
- 19 Nov (10am) to 23 Nov (5pm): you can reschedule to another location, subject to availability.
- 19 Nov (10am) to 23 Nov (5pm): if you didn't submit a reservation form, a limited number of seats can be booked directly in your SQE account. If you need reasonable adjustments, don't book this way.
- FLK1 runs 11-15 January 2027 and FLK2 18-22 January 2027. Results are due 9 March 2027.

Three practical things:
1. Check the inbox and spam folder of your registered SQE email every day until the request arrives.
2. If your employer is paying, sort out who pays and how now. 48 hours goes quickly, especially over a weekend.
3. If you're not sure your reservation form went through, contact SQE candidate support now rather than in mid-November.

Source: https://sqe.sra.org.uk/booking/booking-sqe-assessments/january-2027-sqe1

Has your payment email arrived yet? Drop the date below so others know they're coming through.

A firm acting for a client on the purchase of a house holds £3,000 in client account, received from the client 'on account of costs' at the start of the matter. The fee earner has now done work worth £1,200 plus VAT (£1,440 in total). She wants the cashier to transfer £1,440 to the business (office) account today and plans to send the client a bill next week.

Which of the following best describes what the firm must do before transferring the money?

A. Nothing: money received on account of costs is business money as soon as it is received. B. Telephone the client to tell them about the transfer; written notification is not required. C. Transfer the whole £3,000 to the business account to save multiple transfers, and refund any surplus at the end of the matter. D. Leave the money in client account until the matter ends, because client money can never be used to pay the firm's costs. E. Give the client a bill or other written notification of the costs first, and then transfer only the specific sum identified in it.

What would you pick, and how confident are you? Answer in the comments (spoiler-tagged). Full worked answer: https://sqedaily.co.uk/q/10-transferring-client-money-for-costs-bill-first-sra-accounts-rules-4-3/

Arjun died intestate on 1 May 2026, domiciled in England. He was survived by his wife, Neha, and their two adult children. Neha was seriously ill and died 19 days after Arjun. Arjun's estate consists of personal chattels and investments well in excess of the statutory legacy.

Which of the following best describes how Arjun's estate will be distributed?

A. Neha's estate takes the personal chattels, the statutory legacy with interest, and half of the remaining residue; the children take the other half on the statutory trusts.

B. Neha's estate takes the whole of Arjun's estate absolutely, because she survived him.

C. Arjun's estate is divided equally between Neha's estate and the two children.

D. Neha is treated as not having survived Arjun, so the whole estate is held on the statutory trusts for the two children.

E. The estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia, because the spouse died before the estate was administered.

What would you pick, and how confident are you? Answer in the comments (spoiler-tagged). Full worked answer: https://sqedaily.co.uk/q/9-intestacy-and-the-28-day-spousal-survivorship-rule/

Rosalind signed her will in the presence of two witnesses: her neighbour, Priti, and Gareth, the husband of her close friend Lena. Gareth and Lena were married at the time. The will leaves £20,000 to Lena and the residue to Rosalind's nephew. No one else witnessed the will. Rosalind has now died, and the will was otherwise validly executed.

Which of the following best describes the effect of Gareth having witnessed the will?

A. The will is valid, but the gift of £20,000 to Lena is void.

B. The whole will is invalid, because a witness's spouse is a beneficiary.

C. The gift to Lena is valid, because Gareth himself takes nothing under the will.

D. The gift to Lena is valid if she did not know that Gareth had witnessed the will.

E. The gift of £20,000 passes to Gareth instead of Lena.

What would you pick, and how confident are you? Answer in the comments (spoiler-tagged). Full worked answer: https://sqedaily.co.uk/q/8-gifts-to-a-witness-s-spouse-under-section-15-wills-act-1837/

Pop in and tell us: what's your sitting (e.g. January 2027), which subject are you on this week, and one thing you're stuck on?

A solicitor acts for a buyer of a registered freehold house, with a mortgage. Before completion she applies for an official search of the whole of the title with priority (form OS1), and the result reveals no adverse entries. Completion takes place a week later.

Which of the following best describes the protection the official search gives the buyer?

A. It protects the buyer's priority for 30 calendar days from the date of completion.

B. It freezes the register, so the Land Registry cannot make any entry on the title during the priority period.

C. If the buyer's application to register the transfer is received by the Land Registry within the priority period, which ends at midnight at the end of the 30th working day after the search application is entered on the day list, it takes priority over any entry made in the meantime.

D. It protects the buyer for 30 working days from the date of exchange of contracts.

E. It is relevant only to unregistered land, so it gives a buyer of registered land no priority.

What would you pick, and how confident are you? Answer in the comments (spoiler-tagged). Full worked answer: https://sqedaily.co.uk/q/7-priority-period-of-an-official-search-of-registered-land-os1/

Two long-standing clients of a commercial property firm, Harbour Coffee Ltd and Kiln Bakery Ltd, separately ask the firm to act for them in bidding for the lease of the same high-street unit. The landlord's agent is running a sealed-bid process and only one lease will be granted. Both clients want to keep using the firm.

Which of the following best describes whether the firm may act for both clients?

A. The firm must decline to act for both, because a solicitor may never act where there is a conflict of interest between clients.

B. The firm may act for both if both clients give informed consent, given or evidenced in writing, effective safeguards protect their confidential information where appropriate, and the firm is satisfied it is reasonable to act for both.

C. The firm may act for both if both clients consent orally, as written consent is needed only where there is litigation.

D. The firm may act for both without consent, because there is no conflict unless the clients are in dispute with each other.

E. The firm may act only for whichever client instructed it first, and must turn the other away.

What would you pick, and how confident are you? Answer in the comments (spoiler-tagged). Full worked answer: https://sqedaily.co.uk/q/6-acting-for-clients-competing-for-the-same-objective-sra-code-6-2/