Two in five wealthy people in the UK surveyed claim that they are not including charitable giving in their estate plans due to the legal and financial complexity involved.

A similar proportion say they lack knowledge of charity legacy gifting and one in four claim they “are unsure where to begin”.

The findings have emerged in a survey of 100 millionaires carried out by wealth management firm Rathbones, which points out that the richest face additional bureaucracy when giving to charity.

This includes correctly structuring donations and foundations, ensuring any governance involved adheres to charity law, as well as their philanthropic goals, family inheritance and legacy planning.

“These hurdles could be thwarting strong philanthropic intentions,” says Rathbones, which adds there is “an increasing desire” among the UK’s wealthiest to leave money to charities in their will.

Its head of charities distribution Gemma Gooch said: “Legacy giving is a vital lifeline for charities, yet our study shows many high-net-worth individuals are held back by complexity and a lack of guidance.”

Rathbones financial planner Rebecca Williams added: “We’re seeing more families recognising that with the right advice, they can reduce their tax exposure, protect their loved ones, and make a meaningful difference to the causes they care about.

“The challenge is that too many still feel uncertain about how to start.”

Rathbones found that just over half of rich individuals surveyed have increased their charitable donations in the past two years and two thirds expect to give more in the next two.

Two thirds have included a charitable gift in their will averaging £233,000 and four in five without a will say they intend to write one within three years and include a charitable gift.

The average value of estates among survey respondents was just over £3m.

'Cynicism towards philanthropy'

Research published in February by Charities Aid Foundation found that the UK’s richest give a smaller proportion of their fortune to good causes compared to the wider public.

While the richest in the country gave the equivalent of 0.4% of their combined £2tr in assets to charity, the proportion rises to 1.6% among the general public.

“There is cynicism towards philanthropy in the UK, perhaps more so than other countries,” found CAF.

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