Charity Box - probate asset?

Fermion

Quick question for the probate experts - I'm Executor and handling my Mothers estate and probate. We have found a Charity Collection Box for the "The Children Society" with contents of circa £150.

My question,
(a) is this an asset of the Children's Society which I simply hand across to the nearest Children's Society Shop? or
(b) Are the contents part of my Mothers Estate which I need to include as a cash asset for probate purposes but then amend the distribution post probate to include the Children's Society as an extra beneficiary?

Yorkshireman99

a! It is not part of her estate.

Sea_Shell

Interesting question...

So if the answer is A - not included in the estate, is it possible to hold a "charity box" (or 2) in your house with a donation in it, that would pass directly to that charity upon death, without the charity needing to be specifically noted in a will as a beneficiary.

If so, that sounds like quite a good idea for those who might otherwise wish to leave a modest charity gift in their will, without all the rigmarole. Although it does mean having uninvested cash in the house.

Margot123

If the box is an official collection box, owned by a registered charity, then once money goes into it that then becomes the property of the charity. Anyone who put money into it clearly intended for it to go to that charity.
Having to explain to some officious clerk about how it got where it did might be complicated though.

unforeseen

They used to hand them out for you to have in the house and add money when you wished. It was up to you when/if you handed it in.



I believe that it is part of the estate

Gingernutty

Technically, it's part of the estate and so must be counted for probate.

However, it's obvious what she wanted to do with the money, so when the time comes to distribute the money, write a cheque to the charity for the sum of money found in the box.

Put a note in rhe envelope with the cheque and state whether or not she was a UK taxpater, as they could claim Gift Aid.

Sea_Shell

But it might not be 'her' money...she might have collected it at a charity coffee morning!

Surely if its in an official collection tin, it HAS to be passed to the charity.

Sea_Shell

https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/20-0-handling-donations/

20.2 cash makes for interesting reading. They shouldnt even open and count the contents!!

Keep_pedalling

Personally I would not treat it as part of the estate and simply hand it over to the charity. Putting it into the estate, means it goes to the residual benificiaries.

unforeseen

Sea_Shell wrote: »

https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/20-0-handling-donations/

20.2 cash makes for interesting reading. They shouldnt even open and count the contents!!

Not really applicable in this situation.

getmore4less

easiest way to treat it is as being held as a bare trust.

Not part of the estate