Almost two in five (38%) people say they are not leaving a gift to a charity in their will for fear that it will cause or lead to a family disagreement, research has found.

The same proportion are not leaving a legacy gift as they have difficulty in choosing which charity to support.

Meanwhile, 83% of those not leaving a gift also say they want to leave their full estate to their family.

The findings have emerged in research among solicitors and will writers into legacy giving, published by charity consortium Remember A Charity.

This found that almost a quarter (24%) of wills handled by these professionals include a donation to a charity, up from 16% in 2014.

New findings from our Will-writing tracking study show that one in four professionally written Wills now include a charitable gift 🎁
It is so encouraging to see this steady growth and long-term change 💛
Read more here: https://t.co/qFalyydAC6#legacygiving #Willwriting #growth

— Remember A Charity (@RememberCharity) May 11, 2023

A third of will writers and solicitors say they always raise the option of a charitable legacy with relevant clients, however, one in ten say they never do so. A key barrier, cited by 26%, was not wanting to influence clients’ decisions.

“When it comes to growing legacy giving, engagement and support from across the Will-writing community is crucial,” said Remember A Charity director Lucinda Frostick.

“This benchmarking study charts a continual rise in the proportion of Wills made through solicitors and Will-writers that include a charitable gift and that’s so important for charities that rely on legacy income.

“These donations may not arrive for some years yet, but they will fund vital services and charities’ core costs for generations to follow.”

Meanwhile consultancy Legacy Foresight estimates that UK legacy giving reached £3.85 last year.

Its Legacy Market Outlook report said that the value of gifts is set to fall over the next two years due to a drop in house prices and share prices.

But it anticipates that the number of bequests will rise to around 145,000 a year over the next five years due to an increase in the number of deaths and an expansion of probate staff at HM Courts & Tribunals Service.

“Despite the economic headwinds, it is unlikely that legacy income will fall dramatically in coming years,” said Legacy Foresight economist Jon Franklin.

“The long-term upward trend in the number of deaths will lead to increases in the number of gifts which will largely offset the impact of anticipated falls in house prices.”

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