# Administration of Estates Act 1971, Section 10: Retainer, preference and the payment of debts by personal representatives.

Extent: E+W

(1) The right of retainer of a personal representative and his right to prefer creditors are hereby abolished.
(2) Nevertheless a personal representative—
(a) other than one mentioned in paragraph (b) below, who, in good faith and at a time when he has no reason to believe that the deceased’s estate is insolvent, pays the debt of any person (including himself) who is a creditor of the estate; or
(b) to whom letters of administration had been granted solely by reason of his being a creditor and who, in good faith and at such a time pays the debt of another person who is a creditor of the estate;
shall not, if it subsequently appears that the estate is insolvent, be liable to account to a creditor of the same degree as the paid creditor for the sum so paid.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/25/section/10 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/administration-of-estates-act-1971/section-10
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.