Co-operative Legal Services has teamed up with the government and Remember a Charity in a bid to raise a further £1bn in legacy giving per year.

Currently in the UK only 7 per cent of over-40s give to charities in their will, despite 35 per cent saying they would be happy to. But even with the low number of people giving, £2bn is raised every year through posthumous gifts. The new campaign aims to achieve a 4 per cent increase in the number of people donating after death, to achieve a boost of £1bn to charities through legacy giving. 

Nick Hurd, minister for civil society, explained that the government hopes the British people will look to other countries for inspiration in legacy giving:

"Britain is a generous country, millions of us give time and money to others, and the impact of that generosity on our national quality of life is extraordinary," he said. "However, in most countries it's normal for people to leave a proportion of their income to charity in their will."

Co-op Legal Services input

Through the partnership Co-operative Legal Services hopes to develop its will-writing service to make it easier for customers to leave a charitable gift through a range of measures, advised Ian Mackie, sales and marketing director at the organisation. 

"Although many people are willing to leave a legacy to charity, currently only one in four solicitors or will-writers discuss this option with their customers," he said.

"We believe that our easy-to-use service, coupled with the moves being made to champion legacies and our partnership with Remember a Charity can make a real difference to charities across the UK.

"In order to encourage this change, we are testing variations to the will-writing process to establish which is the most effective way of encouraging people to leave a legacy gift."