Question of EthicsQ I have received instructions from a gentleman to prepare a will for his father.

Who is my client?A The father will be your client as you are providing a legal service to him in preparing his will.

You should contact the father to confirm that he wishes you to act and to get his direct instructions as to the terms of the will.

Don't forget to send the father your client care letter without delay.

Q I am considering offering a bridging loan to a conveyancing client.

Will that create a conflict?A Not necessarily.

If you stand to make no personal gain and where the terms of the facility are not unusually onerous then the client will not generally need to be separately represented in relation to the terms of the loan.

However, independent advice may be required in other circumstances.

See principle 25.03 in the Guide to the Professional Conduct of Solicitors, 1999, eighth edition, page 469.

Q I am acting on the sale of a company.

One of the company's assets is a freehold property and this will be transferred as part of the sale.

My client wants me to send contracts out to two interested parties.

Am I caught by r.6A of the Solicitors' Practice Rules 1990?A No, not in the circumstances which you have described.

Practice r.6A (at Principle 25.05 in the Guide to the Professional Conduct of Solicitors, page 470) is only concerned with conveyancing of property.

In your case, the property will remain in the ownership of the company and there will be no conveyance of the property as such.

l Question of ethics is compiled by the Law Society's professional ethics guidance team.

Send questions for publication to Austin O'Malley, the Law Society, Ipsley Court, Berrington Close, Redditch B98 0TD; DX 19114 Redditch;tel: 020 7242 1222.