Legal News | 6.06.25
We are not ‘giving up’ giving to charity
Many individuals opt to make gifts to charity in their Wills. Following a recent report by Smee & Ford*, it appears that the legacy income charities are receiving is continuing to rise; in 2024, legacy income to UK charities increased by 9.2%.
Some have commented that this increase is as a result of the Probate backlog slowly being cleared – see the gov.uk press release about Probate waiting times here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/probate-waiting-times-halved-thanks-to-government-push. Whatever the reason for the increase, the report may well inspire you to consider making charitable gifts yourself.
Why make gifts to charity in your Will?
Besides the obvious philanthropic motivations to make charitable gifts, there are some other reasons why an individual may name charities in their Will, these include:
- If you leave at least 10% of your estate to charity, your estate may benefit from the reduced rate of inheritance tax (a reduction from a 40% rate to 36%). As a reminder, inheritance tax is not always chargeable and will depend on the value of your estate and the relevant nil rate bands and exemptions available.
- Practically, including a charity in your Will can be useful. Individuals often consider ‘what if’ scenarios when preparing their Wills, including the ‘what if’ of all loved ones and family predeceasing them. Many individuals opt to name a charity as a default beneficiary in this scenario. Without a default beneficiary, this scenario could lead to an estate passing bona vacantia (to the Crown), which is often considered less preferable than a chosen charity.
- Wills can also be drafted so that if a named charity is no longer in existence at the date of death, a replacement charity can benefit provided that it has similar objectives. In other words, testators can be confident that the cause they wish to favour in their Will would benefit from their estate, one way or another.
If you would like to discuss including a charitable beneficiary in your Will, or explore the potential inheritance tax saving of making a charitable gift, please reach out to wealth@wansbroughs.com.
*Smee & Ford Legacy Giving Report 2025
