Probate Delays Blamed For Fall In Charity Bequest Notifications
Legacy Foresight’s latest bulletin has revealed a reduction in charity bequest notifications due to probate delays and changes to the legacy notification system. Britain’s charity data analysts of the legacy and in-memory sectors found that there was a 7% fall in the number of bequest notifications to charities in the year to June 2019 compared […]
Charities Lose Millions To Fraud
A UK national fraud reporting centre reveals a breath-taking figure of almost £8m lost by charities to fraud. The staggering figures were exposed after Accountancy firm RSM retrieved the data following a freedom of information request to Action Fraud. Broken down, UK charities had submitted 1,057 reports of fraud which totalled £7.85m in the year […]
Tax Reforms Incentivises Will Writers To Discuss Legacy Giving
A recent Charity Tax Commission (CTC) report reveals a suite of reforms that will incentivise professional Will writers and increase legacy giving. One of the proposals made by the CTC was that charitable Wills should be exempt from VAT. This has been welcomed by charity organisations as the recommendation will encourage solicitors to discuss legacy […]
Welsh Charities Increasingly Reliant On Legacy Gifts In Wills
Top Welsh charities are becoming more and more reliant on income from charitable legacies, according to Remember A Charity’s new report ‘Welsh Legacy Fundraising Market 2019’ released this month. The legacy market is growing fast in Wales with smaller charities having a bigger share of the legacy market but large and health-related charities still dominate […]
Charity Sector Given Less Than 6 Weeks To Prepare For Wills Notification Changes
Charities will be given less than six weeks to prepare for the new Wills Notification service. HM Courts and Tribunals Service have confirmed that the charity sector will not be offered any further details on the replacement and interim Wills Notification Service until June 18, less than six weeks before the new system will start. […]
Significant Shift In Public Attitudes To Charitable Legacies
People’s attitudes to leaving gifts in Wills to charities have become more positive over the past ten years, according to the latest UK consumer tracking poll commissioned by Remember a Charity. Remember a Charity, who help charities who rely on gifts in Wills to continue their work and to grow the legacy market, have seen […]
Clarity Needed Over Government Bequest Alert Plans
Leading firm of genealogists and international probate researchers Fraser and Fraser has called for clarity regarding Ministry of Justice (MoJ) plans for a restructured wills notification service. HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) announced in January that it would be ending its association with private company Smee & Ford (S&F), which for over 50 years […]
Legacy Sector Discussions Set For Today’s Wills And Probate Round Table
The charity sector has been forced to confront the wrath of governmental reform in recent months; all of which had huge ramifications on the charity sector and their ability to accrue legacy gifts. Firstly, the changes to the Non-Contentious Fees Bill have the potential to cause a loss of £10 million per year in legacy […]
Short-Term Arrangement To Replace Current Wills Notification Service
Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) have claimed that the proposed changes to the Wills Notification Service will launch a short-term arrangement that is set operate for around a year until a long-term solution is created and set up by the summer of 2020. In February, the Government announced that the Wills Notification Service, […]
Charities Plea To MoJ For Alternative Proposal On Probate Fees
Charity bodies have written to the Ministry of Justice urgently seeking an alternative proposal on the probate fees by asking for a reduced or discounted rate on fees for estates that include legacy gift. This month, The Institute of Fundraising (IOF), Remember a Charity, the Institute of Legacy Management (ILM) and NCVO wrote to the […]
Update On HMCTS’ New Legacy Notification Service
This month, the Institute of Legacy Management (ILM) and other key professionals from the charity sector attended the first meeting of the HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) working group on the new system which will alert charities to donations in Wills – following its announcement that Smee & Ford has been given notice on […]
Changes To Wills Notification Service Could Affect Charitable Spend
At the end of January, the Government announced it was to terminate its contract with Smee & Ford, the company that notifies charities of gifts left to them in Wills. This service is invaluable to our members, who rely on it to notify them of any bequests and use the service to help with forecasting […]
HMCTS Announce New System Which Alerts Charities To Will Bequests
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is implementing a new system, which alerts charities when money has been bequeathed, after ending their current arrangement. The reason behind terminating HMCTS’ current scheme with private firm, Smee and Ford, which has provided a paid-for notification service to participating charities for many years, was because “it is not […]
How Using Will Aid Can Help Law Firms Tap Into the Millennials As Clients
Are you looking to reach out to the Millennials? Using Will Aid can help law firms attract the younger generation as potential clients. Some people might have you believe that Millennials (defined as those aged between 19-32) are narcissistic and shallow who spend all their time on social media – even Millennials themselves share this opinion. This stereotypical image of the […]
Oxfam’s Legacy Windfall: The Legal Implications
Gifts in Wills are a vital source of income for many charitable organisations. Many rely on this income to sustain provision of their services for often the most vulnerable in our society. According to ‘Legacy Trends 2018’ published by Smee & Ford, charity legacy income reached a record high of £2.8bn in 2017, up by […]
40% of legal professionals reluctant to discuss charitable giving with clients
The Law society held a roundtable discussion on legacy giving which found 40% of solicitors did not feel able to raise the issue of charitable giving with their clients, according to 2016 research by Remember a Charity (RAC). Legacy income is the biggest single source of voluntary income to the charities sector, currently worth more […]
Will Public trust in charities effect charity legacy giving?
Research findings in 2018 shows more than 4 in 10 members of the public donate less money as a result of lack of trust in charities – how will this effect legacy giving? Researcher Populas, on behalf of The Charity Commission, investigated overall public trust and confidence in charities which found it had decreased over the past two years. Scandals reported in the media in relation to […]
Under 55s more likely to donate to charity
Recent research has revealed that those aged under 55 are more likely to make a donation to charity than their older counterparts.
Government issues public advice on making a charitable donation safely
The Charity Commission have released public guidance to help ensure consumers donate to charities safely.
Lady Lucan leaves fortune to homeless charity
The Dowager Countess of Lucan has left the entirety of her fortune to a homeless charity.
