Do I need client consent to share information with a trustee in bankruptcy?

My client was the sole executor and beneficiary of an estate valued at £50,000. A trustee in bankruptcy wants me to confirm in writing that this money was paid to my client. Do I need the client’s consent to share this information?

No. The trustee in bankruptcy holds the same position in relation to you, as the bankrupt (or former client) had he not been made bankrupt.

You should therefore comply with the trustee's requests about matters relating to the client's financial affairs, regardless of the client's wishes or instructions.

A request to disclose information in relation to the former client against whom a bankruptcy order has been made is governed by section 312(3) of the Insolvency Act 1986.

It places an obligation on any person, including a solicitor “who holds any property to the account of, or for, the bankrupt” to “pay or deliver to the trustee all property in his possession or under his control which forms part of the bankrupt's estate”.

Section 311 makes it clear that this includes “all books, papers and other records which relate to the bankrupt's estate or affairs and which belong to him” and applies even to privileged communications.

For more information, see our practice note on confidentiality around client insolvency and consider the SRA Codes of Conduct 2019, which deal with confidentiality.