Two sector bodies have announced that they will produce guidance for charities offering will-writing services to donors in the coming months as legacy income becomes an increasingly significant income stream.
This comes after a recent report in the Times warned that errors and oversights in free will-writing by charities could lead to costly legal disputes and surprise tax bills, stating it was advisable to use a solicitor.
However, many charity schemes are offered in partnership with solicitors such as Free Wills Month, running this month with several major charities signed up, and Will Aid, which offers a service in November.
The Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIOF) and Remember A Charity will publish their guidance in the spring on will-writing partnerships.
Crisis, National Trust, Amnesty International, NSPCC and Alzheimer’s Society are among several charities which offer that service.
Claire Stanley, policy and communications director at CIOF, warned that charities should carefully consider the opportunities and risks, as well as the levels of regulation.
Stanley said: “Will-writing is an extremely complex area.
“[The framework] will provide charities with a framework to ask the right questions to make the decisions that are right for themselves and their supporters.”
Remember A Charity, a UK consortium of about 200 voluntary organisations and campaign arm of CIOF, added that free will-writing can remove a significant hurdle for people.
“Free wills can remove a key barrier and help people take that crucial first step of putting a will in place, and for many supporters a simple will is sufficient,” said director Lucinda Frostick.
However, she said clear signposting was needed for supporters who need specialist advice to ensure they are protected.
“Ultimately, charities will want to ensure that their supporters have access to the right level of advice for them.”
Frostick said charities should safeguard supporters by educating them on the opportunities and risks in will-writing, including any potential “upselling”.
Ashley Rowthorn, Legacy Futures executive director, emphasised the fact that most charities partner with solicitors to offer free will writing services.
"Charities have been promoting free will services to their supporters for several decades, and is now a key part of most legacy strategies," Rowthorn said.
He added that 97% of charity participants in its Legacy Marketing Benchmarks analysis said they run a free will scheme, and 43% of campaigns have a free will offer connected to them.
‘Considerable risks’
Legacy income for charities in the UK increased to £4.5bn overall last year, according to analysis from Smee & Ford and Legacy Futures.
According to their analysis, legacies represented 30% of all fundraising and 14% of total income for the 1,000 charities in England and Wales that received the most money from legacies.
Longer term, legacy income for UK charities is forecast to exceed £7.5bn by 2040 and £11bn by 2050.
In its recently updated code of practice, the Fundraising Regulator (FR) warns that there are “considerable risks” in charities paying for someone’s will which includes a legacy donation to their organisation.
Fundraisers “must not insist that your charitable institution receives a legacy or is appointed as executor in exchange for paying for the will” in this situation, it says.
It also warns that close relationships between a fundraiser and someone considering leaving a legacy to a charity can also carry risks.
“This can lead to the fundraiser benefiting rather than the charitable institution, as a legacy may be left to the individual fundraiser rather than to the charitable institution,” it states.
It states that fundraisers themselves must not be involved in drafting any wills in their favour.
Meanwhile, the Charity Commission’s guidance states that legacy fundraising is a “delicate subject” and urges charities to be sensitive.
It states that a will must comply with legal requirements to be valid, namely, to be signed in front of two witnesses with no charitable association.
