Working with the public daily, I see so many different reasons why people want to make a will. After discussing their wishes for those closest to them, I often find that many are driven by wanting to do something good – for their family, for society, for themselves. Giving for each person can be a completely unique experience. Just the other week I enquired with a local NHS trust about whether a client could leave funds to a specific ward where they’d been previously treated.
How can charities approach will-writing conversations?
Nobody likes talking about death, but since the pandemic far more people have experienced loss and unfortunately many found out what happens when the person you lose hasn’t got a will.
Whilst this has influenced many people to enquire about making a will, and even a surge of younger people taking action, research shows that 60% of people in the UK don’t have one in place. Meaning there’s 31 million adults at risk of dying intestate.
Will-writing isn’t a one size fits all service, different people and circumstances will require different levels of support, so it’s key to be aware of the options available.
For those looking for specialist advice and legal protection, working directly with a solicitor is often the preferred path but there many other options available too, ranging from professional will-writers to online providers and services.
Understanding free will services
Free will schemes have become much more prevalent in recent years. They can inspire supporters to engage but there’s no guarantee that the person will leave a gift to charity and it would of course be unethical for a charity to demand a gift. These schemes don’t always have the same protection for the public either, as not every provider or scheme uses a solicitor for this service or involves them at the same stage of the process.
However, it’s important to keep track of how well a free will-writing service is working for your legacy programme by measuring its impact. Whilst they can be marvellous in generating large volumes, they may not always be so successful if a person leaves a small legacy and a charity has paid more to the solicitor for the service.
At other times, some professionals will work pro-bono for a charity, where nobody pays but they offer a certain number of appointments. Pro-bono solicitors will typically say to the client that they are donating their time to support a particular charity this month, highlighting that other clients have included a gift in their will when using the free service.
Another way to engage with solicitors is for charities to speak to them about being the firm’s charity of the month or year. This can be a natural way for solicitors to talk about the work of the charity, and the potential to leave a gift in a will.
Avoid mistakes and delays
Unfortunately, it’s all too common when people write their own wills that mistakes are made, such as misspelling the name of a charity or being too vague about their wishes.
To avoid any delays, it helps for charities to use easy-to-follow wording about the key steps people need to take when they write the charity into their will. This might include providing them with a summary of essential information that donors will need to include in their will, including the charity’s full name and charity number.
It sounds simple, but so many wills are questioned after well-intended members of the public reference a charity, without using its full name. This is something that often happens when people write a generic cause like cancer research, leaving those left behind trying to find which charity the testator meant.
Many charities include examples of what an impact a legacy can make. And, don’t forget, that if you’d like the donor to let you know they’ve included you in their will – or that they are thinking about it – to make your contact for gifts in wills readily available on your website.
If charities can become a platform for impartial and useful information around wills in general, the more we can change the attitude around wills and inspire legacy giving. It goes without saying that the easier you make it for supporters, the more likely they are to go ahead and make a gift.
Ian Bond is head of wills and estates at Thursfields Solicitors
