# 2023 saw highest ever number of charitable estates in wills: Smee & Ford

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2024/04/26/2023-saw-highest-ever-number-of-charitable-estates-in-wills-smee-ford/
- Published: 2024-04-26T10:13:37+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**Smee & Ford’s annual Legacy Trends Report reveals that 38,178 charitable estates
were found in wills in 2023, the highest number recorded since its tracking of sector
data began in 2012.**

Reported legacy income in 2023 reached £3.5 billion, with Smee & Ford estimating
that the actual total was more than £3.9bn – the highest total it has ever reported
and a 3.2% increase on 2022.

13.7% of probated estates with wills charitable nationally, rising to 14.9% when
intestate cases – probated estates without wills – are included. According to [the report](https://smeeandford.com/reports-whitepapers/2024-smee-ford-legacy-trends-report-download/),
there were more charitable wills in areas of the south west and south east, reaching
nearly 1 in 5 wills, compared to 1 in 8 – 1 in 10 in many areas of the north-east
and Wales.

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Overall, Smee & Ford says that 10,951 charitable organisations were mentioned in
wills in 2023.

Based on the number of deaths recorded in 2023 (581,367), Smee & Ford calculates
that 6.6% of people in the population of England and Wales mention a charitable 
organisation in their will.

![](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-25-at-16.55.58.
png)

2023 also saw the value of charitable estates increase by £1.2bn from £21.4bn to
£22.6bn in 2023, a growth of almost 7%. This is the second time values have exceeded
£20bn and, Smee & Ford notes, is important becase growth in estate values means 
the values of residual bequests also grow.