LATEST ANNUAL TRENDS RECORD THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF CHARITABLE ESTATES FOUND IN WILLS IN 2023

26th April 2024

Every charity works hard to protect its good name from exploitation – it’s a valuable asset, provides public confidence and helps them to meet the stringent guidelines that regulate the charitable sector.

Third sector organisations have to abide by a whole raft of rules and regulations which help to prevent them from being exploited and to ensure that each charity is able to pursue their particular purpose without conflicts of interest.

Agreements and commercial partnerships do, however, exist between charities and companies for mutual benefit.

Perane, are very proud of the work they do to help repatriate funds from historic bequests to individuals and charities to whom they were left. These assets were, for one reason or another, missed by executors in the estate administration.

In 2023, they were able to secure £795,000 for a number of charitable organisations – vital funds in these cash-strapped times. In total, they identified £1,977,253 of unclaimed assets from dormant probates due to be disbursed to charities.

This is supported by the latest evidence of annual trends from legacy strategists Smee & Ford in their report published last week. https://todayswillsandprobate.co.uk/over-38k-charitable-estates-were-found-in-wills-in-2023-report/

They record that over 38,000 charitable estates were found in wills in 2023.  Following a dip in 2019 and 2020, due to His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals’ (HMCTS) system changes and the coronovirus pandemic, the numbers have recovered and for the first time surpassed the 38,000 threshold.

According to their estimate, legacy income for charitable organisations reached £3.5bn, the largest total ever recorded.

However, it’s becoming more and more apparent that a great many charities, some of the most well-known in fact, are reluctant to engage when it comes to historic legacies. This is highly surprising given those figures and when fundraising is becoming more difficult.

Perhaps it’s simply because someone somewhere has made a decision that no one feels willing or able to challenge.

Excuses range from organisation to organisation. Some say they would be breaking HMRC rules, others say it would be seen as a benefit by HMRC, others want us to sign unfathomable contracts, or for us to pay to engage with them – which is odd when we are effectively contributing to their coffers.

It is almost certainly the case that without Perane’s pioneering software, which can identify deceased share ownership, these charities would not be able to access or discover those funds.

To repatriate the funds, however, the charities have to legally work with them to do so. Those that do so gain financially.

Co-operation and transparency are key elements in this. Perane is a professional service. They are committed to partnering with charities to ensure these rightful assets can be repatriated.

If Perane identifies unclaimed assets and raises this with the original executors, they are legally bound to reopen the files of administration and action the outstanding disbursements.

This is supported by a legal opinion from barrister Stephen Hackett of 3 Hare’s Court who states that the responsibility of an executor is for life and that failing to carry out those obligations could leave them open to legal action and financial penalties.

Moreover, legacy incomes are playing an increasingly important role in charity finances.

A recent report from Legacy Futures says that over the past thirty years, legacy income has quadrupled in value from £0.9bn in 1993 to £4bn in 2022/23.

As one social media user starkly pointed out to Perane recently: ”If charities don’t fight for what has been gifted to them, aren’t they betraying the testator who bequeathed their assets in good faith?”

It’s a good point.

This all comes at a time when a number of high-profile charities are joining forces with will-writing firms to facilitate potential donors. But those legacies could well become worthless in the years and decades to come unless the charities are following those wishes up.

There must surely be a duty on the part of charities to repatriate funds that were donated to them in good faith in the past, as well as in the future.

On one recent occasion, they wrote to a charity to tell them they were beneficiaries of a will and they responded that they did not want the money.

Before asking us all to dig deep into our pockets, here’s a thought for charity chiefs. Doesn’t the public have a right to expect that a charity has done its utmost to have repatriated all of the unclaimed funds left to it?

So to charities, and anyone else who might be owed a historic legacy which has been lost, let’s find those gifts for you. Let’s work together to benefit you and your organisations, so that historic gifts can be put to good use instead of lying dormant against the wishes of the benefactor who bequeathed them.

If you work for a charity and want to know more about Perane’s services, please visit www.perane.co.uk or call on 01603 673260. Bruce Cane, CEO of inheritance recovery specialists, Perane.