Solvency TestThe recent letter from Robert Brown (see [2001] Gazette, 8 February, 19) was a welcome reminder to solicitors and other probate practitioners of the need to exercise caution before distributing legacies to beneficiaries against whom bankruptcy orders may have been made or are pending.As Mr Brown stated, the problem may not be a common one but the implications for solicitors who pay the legacy to a bankrupt rather than to his or her trustee could be serious for the practice and its insurers.A bankruptcy search against all beneficiaries prior to distribution is a practice that should not only be encouraged but insisted upon by the principals upon whom the ultimate responsibility falls for explaining any oversight to the personal representatives of the estate, particularly as the cost of the searches is minimal.The question occurs as to whether a search should be done before every distribution if there are several interim payments to beneficiaries - good practice would suggest that it is imperative.

There are further alternative scenarios where solicitors are at risk by not knowing the financial position of those to whom payments are due would have to include, for example (and not exclusively) payment of damages to a client, distribution to beneficiaries of a trust and surely any payment made to a client (and third party?) where a bankruptcy search has not been made against that individual in the normal course of the management of the client's file.Bill Clay, trust and estate practitioner, Denham Foxon & Watchorn, Leicester