John Richard Killington

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

John Richard Killington, sole practitioner and COLP/COFA, was the sole Executor of the estate of the late Mrs GP, whose residue passed to six charities. He used £370,383.01 of estate funds to make two unsecured, unregistered loans to unrelated conveyancing clients (Miss W and Mr & Mrs B) to complete purchases when mortgage funds were delayed, without authority or beneficiary consent, and concealed this on client ledgers and from the parties. He failed to disclose the loans to beneficiaries, unreasonably delayed administering the estate (including a 3.5 year delay in selling Tesco shares which fell substantially in value), continued acting as Executor despite awareness of a potential negligence claim while failing to notify insurers until December 2016, and failed to report material breaches to the SRA. The Tribunal found all allegations proved, including dishonesty under the Ivey test, and struck him off the Roll, ordering costs of £33,931.98.

Duties found breached:

• Proper basis for allegations
• Advise on alternatives, settlement and outcome
• Disclose referrals, commissions and benefits
• No improper use of client money
• Self-report to the regulator

Aggravating factors:

• Conduct was dishonest
• Deliberate, calculated and repeated over a long period
• Took advantage of a deceased client and his position as Executor, depriving charities of funds
• Concealed conduct from beneficiaries and from Mr and Mrs B
• Caused immense harm and ought to have known it breached obligations to protect the public and reputation of the profession
• Limited insight and no recognition of consequences

Mitigating factors:

• Previously long unblemished career
• Limited admissions and apologies, albeit very late in the proceedings