More than a quarter of people believe they can’t afford to leave a gift to charity in their will and the majority still don’t plan to write a legacy into their will at all, according to research released yesterday.

In a survey conducted before chancellor George Osborne announced changes to inheritance tax which will see tax breaks for legacy givers, 71 per cent of the population said that they did not plan to leave a gift to charity in their will. This proportion is roughly inline with previous estimates, with a YouGov survey last year of over-55s showing that 32 per cent planned to write a legacy into their will.

Traditionally, around 15 per cent of wills contain legacies, but Standard Life, which conducted the survey, believe this figure could well rise as potential legators take advantage of the tax offerings made in the last Budget.

Julie Hutchison, head of estate planning at Standard Life, said: “As families face economic uncertainty and tightening purse strings it’s easy to see why the public might detract from considering charities in their wills. But now under the new proposals the amount of tax they could pay will drop from 40 to 36 per cent, from next year. This will mean they could provide more to their family by donating money to charitable causes, which could be a ‘win-win’ for both parties.”

She said that while the estate planning remains complicated, she hopes the Budget announcement might “rekindle the flame” in people thinking about philanthropy in their wills.

The survey found that the main reason individuals did not intend to leave a gift is that they perceive they can’t afford it, with 27 per cent of respondents saying this was the case. One in ten said they felt they were generous enough to charity during their lifetime.  

Men were marginally less inclined to say they wanted to leave a legacy than women, with 73 per cent averse to doing so compared to 69 per cent of women. Predictably, the single were more likely to report their intention to make a bequest than others.