Gibson Kerr is a supporter of the Remember A Charity campaign, which encourages people to leave a gift to charity in their Wills.
Remember A Charity recently took part in a new trial that found three times as many Britons would leave a gift to charities that they are passionate about in their Will, if their solicitor reminded them to consider this opportunity.
With gifts in Wills currently bringing in £2 billion per year for UK charities, 13% of all charitable donations, a trebling in the number of people leaving a gift could have a significant financial impact for good causes.
Gifts in Wills are incredibly important to UK charities, without this income charities would have to cut services and many would simply not exist. Two out of three guide dogs and six out of ten life boat launches are apparently paid for by gifts in Wills, as is over a third of Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work. Gifts in Wills are the equivalent of 19 Comic Reliefs appeals each year.
The legacy giving trial by the Cabinet Office Behavioural Insights Team showed that when solicitors or Will writers simply mentioned to people that leaving a gift to charity was an option, the percentage of people who did so rose from just 5% to 10%. They rose again, to 15%, when people were also asked if there were any charities that they were passionate about. An additional £1 million of gifts was left to charities in Wills as a result of the trial alone.
Contact our Family Lawyers
If you would like to leave a charitable gift in your Will, contact our family law solicitors based in Edinburgh, Scotland, to find out how we can help you – click here to contact us or telephone 0131 202 7516.
