Leaving money to charities in Wills

G6JNS

Primrose wrote: »

One of the reasons for my raising this thread is that I have become increasingly cynical about the roles played by some of the larger charities in this country. They seem to be adopting all the worst facets of big business without any any of its redeeming features you expect of charities. .
It sometimes makes you wonder if you shouldn't just spend all your spare cash on riotous living and go out on your last buck !!

Please can you tell us your evidence that this practice is widespread rather than just a few isolated cases? Just curious.

Primrose

I have personal knowledge of several friends or acquaintances who have been executors for parents or relatives who have had encounters with charities when legacies have been left which they have found stressful to deal with when trying to deal with natural grief, navigating themselves through the unfamiliar processes of probate while still managing family life and holding down a full time job. To be harrassed to expedite legacies, for which charities should be grateful, seems to me to leave a very unpleasant taste In the mouth when non professional or family appointed executors have so many pressing issues to desk with after the death of s loved one.

wwl

G6JNS wrote: »

Please can you tell us your evidence that this practice is widespread rather than just a few isolated cases? Just curious.

I never suggested it was widespread, just that it can happen, primarily in response to your post suggesting that it's mythical, and it would cost charities £10 to look at every single will published.

Since it costs £10 to get a copy of the will how many charities are going to go searching the lists and getting copies on the off chance they will get a legacy? The whole idea sounds like an urban myth to me.

My point in the context of this thread was that is safer to assume charities will find out than hope they won't.

As regards your suggestion of it being an urban myth :
from http://www.theguardian.com/money/2009/feb/22/charities-legacies

until 1975, the Probate Service itself notified charities when they had been left legacies. It has passed this function to Smee & Ford which, by arrangement with the Probate Service, receives a copy of all wills published. Charities pay Smee & Ford to let them know when they are mentioned in wills and also, for £1,009 a year, who has left bequests to unnamed charities - in effect, money that is up for grabs. For executors, it means a flood of marketing literature.

G6JNS

wwl wrote: »

I never suggested it was widespread, just that it can happen, primarily in response to your post suggesting that it's mythical, and it would cost charities £10 to look at every single will published.
My point in the context of this thread was that is safer to assume charities will find out than hope they won't.

As regards your suggestion of it being an urban myth :
from http://www.theguardian.com/money/2009/feb/22/charities-legacies

Noted. That was six years ago. I will do some research next week when offices are open to find out if the system has changed. The article suggest that this was under consideration. I noticed that papers stopped reporting probate values a few years back so that may be the case.

Savvy_Sue

I work for a small charity. We do not routinely receive bequests, nor do we monitor in any way to see if we have been left something.

I agree that it is distasteful if a charity aggressively pursues a bequest, and there is evidence that some charities will do so. For example, if 'their' share is dependent on a house sale, the charity may suggest that the executors could pay it themselves now. I'd be embarrassed to make that suggestion.

However, the other side of it is that charity trustees have an obligation to act in the best interests of the charity, and could be negligent if they were aware of a bequest and did not ensure that it WAS paid. I'm sure that the vast majority of executors act honestly, but I'm equally sure that a few will conveniently forget or not get round to dealing with everything.

getmore4less

Still very active in the charitable notification business.

http://smeeandford.com/index
http://smeeandford.com/aboutus
http://smeeandford.com/notificationservices



there is also this mob

http://legacymanagement.org.uk/#

G6JNS

getmore4less wrote: »

Still very active in the charitable notification business.

http://smeeandford.com/index
http://smeeandford.com/aboutus
http://smeeandford.com/notificationservices



there is also this mob

http://legacymanagement.org.uk/#

Thanks for that. In the last fifteen years I have been an executor of 5 wills all of which left substantial funds to charities but I had no contact from either of the organizations you name. I would not have been very pleased to do so. The second sounded very pushy which IMHO is not a good sign.I would have referred them to the case of Arkell v Pressdram had they contacted me!

getmore4less

G6JNS wrote: »

Thanks for that. In the last fifteen years I have been an executor of 5 wills all of which left substantial funds to charities but I had no contact from either of the organizations you name. I would not have been very pleased to do so. The second sounded very pushy which IMHO is not a good sign.I would have referred them to the case of Arkell v Pressdram had they contacted me!

Of course not, they they are a business that deal with the charities and have no interest in the estates directly.

The former does the notification service and the charities then act on that as they see fit.