# Residual legacies soar past pre-recession peak

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/05/19/residual-legacies-soar-past-pre-recession-peak/
- Published: 2014-05-19T09:45:21+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Residual legacies to charities have undergone a sharp increase in the last financial
year to take them “well above” their pre-recession peak, latest figures from the
Legacy Monitor Consortium show.

The average residual (or residuary) legacy – everything left over in a testator’s
estate that hasn’t been specifically attributed –  stood at £55,600 at the end of
March. The increase from £52,000 at 1 April last year has taken average residual
values past the pre-recession peak of £53,400.

[⌊Residual legacy values 2014⌉⌊Residual legacy values 2014⌉[

Average residual value (£000) 2004-2014

The Legacy Monitor Consortium says the increase in residual values is being driven
by the buoyant housing market, which is seeing an increase in average house prices,
and is largely responsible for the 7.15 per cent rise in total charitable bequest
income last year.

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Forty of the benchmarking programme’s 67 charities – who account for more than half
the charitable bequest market – saw their legacy income increase in 2013-14, taking
the overall total to £1.15 billion.

Legacy Monitor Consortium is a research programme set up in 2008 to analyse, benchmark
and debate trends in the legacy market.

Seven charities have joined the programme this year: Alzheimer’s Research UK, the
Brooke, Greenpeace, Livability, the National Deaf Children’s Society, Shelter and
National Trust for Scotland. New members will be invited to join in September 2014.

 

_Photo: [my will](http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-153665921/stock-photo-my-will.html)
by alexskopje on Shutterstock.com_

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