# 1 in 4 Wills written by solicitors & professional Will-writers now include a charitable gift

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2023/05/11/1-in-4-wills-written-by-solicitors-professional-will-writers-now-include-a-charitable-gift/
- Published: 2023-05-11T08:30:00+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**Almost a quarter (24%) of Wills handled by UK legal advisers now include a donation
to charity; up from 16% in 2014, according to a study commissioned by Remember A
Charity.**

The study, based on the views of 230 solicitors, professional Will-writers and IFAs
across the UK, found also that solicitors and professional Will-writers are playing
an increasingly important role here, with almost three-quarters (73%) always or 
sometimes raising the option of leaving charitable bequests in Wills to their clients.

![](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/2023/05/Screenshot-2023-05-11-at-07.24.22.
png)

The release of the 2022 Savanta Will-writing tracking study, commissioned by [Remember A Charity](http://www.rememberacharity.org.uk/),
follows yesterday’s [new figures from Legacy Foresight](https://fundraising.co.uk/2023/05/10/uk-legacy-income-reached-3-85bn-in-2022-is-set-to-remain-resilient/),
which show that gifts in Wills raised £3.85 billion for good causes in 2022, making
them the largest single source of voluntary income for charities in the UK.

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Remember A Charity’s commissioned study found that over a third (36%) of all solicitors
and Will-writers say they always raise the option of a charitable legacy with relevant
clients, while less than one in 10 (9%) say they never do so. Of those who don’t
always raise the issue, more than a quarter (26%) say the most prominent reason 
is because they do not want to influence their client’s decision. 

Lucinda Frostick, Director at Remember A Charity, commented:

> “When it comes to growing legacy giving, engagement and support from across the
> Will-writing community is crucial. This benchmarking study charts a continual 
> rise in the proportion of Wills made through solicitors and Will-writers that 
> include a charitable gift and that’s so important for charities that rely on legacy
> income. These donations may not arrive for some years yet, but they will fund 
> vital services and charities’ core costs for generations to follow._”_

When asked about the most common barriers to legacy giving for clients, solicitors
and Will-writers said they believed the most common reasons were that they want 
to leave their full estate to their family (83%), that they have difficulty choosing
which charity/charities to support (38%) or that it may cause/lead to dispute (38%).

Three-quarters of the firms in the survey (77%) have acted or assisted in the administration
of estates that include a legacy to charity. Over half (56%) of those said they 
found charities easy to deal with. 13% indicated said they didn’t find charities
easy to work, with the top cited reason (22%) being that they communicate too often.

 * **[Lessons I’ve learned… Tales from a departing charity Chair](https://fundraising.co.uk/2023/12/22/lessons-ive-learned-tales-from-a-departing-charity-chair/)**(
   22 December 2023)
 * **[More than 1 in 5 charity donors aged 40+ now say they have included a gift in their Will](https://fundraising.co.uk/2024/04/16/more-than-1-in-5-charity-donors-aged-40-now-say-they-have-included-a-gift-in-their-will/)**(
   16 April 2024)
 * **[Interactive legacy giving map showing impact of gifts to launch in Remember A Charity Week](https://fundraising.co.uk/2024/07/22/interactive-legacy-giving-map-showing-impact-of-gifts-to-launch-in-remember-a-charity-week/)**(
   22 July 2024)