14.Legacies
Gifts in wills (legacies) can be a particularly sensitive area of fundraising, so it is important that fundraisers have clear role boundaries. This section sets out standards to avoid undue influence and pressure and manage conflicts of interest while being sensitive to the wishes of the person leaving the gift (the testator) and any conditions they may set.
14.1 General responsibilities
In this section, ‘you’ means a charitable institution or third-party fundraiser, unless we tell you otherwise.
You must make sure that all fundraising activity relating to legacies considers:
- the freedom of the potential testator to provide for their family and others; and
- any sensitive circumstances of the potential testator and their family and friends, where known.
You must make sure any information you provide for potential testators to include in their will or related documents is clear and accurate.
You must be clear that any suggested wording does not represent legal advice. If you provide suggested wording about your charitable institution, this should include the charitable institution’s:
- full name and address; and
- registration details (such as the charity number and registered address).
If a potential testator asks you or any of your officers or employees to act as executor, you must consider whether:
- you have the legal power to do this;
- it is in the best interests of your charitable institution; and
- there are any risks or potential conflicts of interest for your charitable institution.
Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIoF): Introduction to Legacy Fundraising
Institute of Legacy Management (ILM): Good Practice Guidance and Legacy Insights
Charity Commission for England and Wales (CCEW): Raising funds through wills and charitable legacies
14.2 Communicating in person
In this section, ‘you’ means a charitable institution or third-party fundraiser, unless we tell you otherwise.
You must behave respectfully towards potential testators. As part of this, you must make sure that fundraisers:
- are open about the reason for inviting someone to an event where legacies will be discussed;
- do not act in a way which could be considered unreasonably pressurising;
- carry out meetings in a suitable way, which is sensitive to the potential testator’s interests and concerns;
- keep a record of meetings and communications with potential testators; and
- accept the potential testator’s right to:
• invite other people to all meetings;
• decline a meeting; or
• end a meeting at any time.
14.3 Involving charitable institutions in making a will
In this section, ‘you’ means a charitable institution or third-party fundraiser, unless we tell you otherwise.
Close relationships can develop between a fundraiser and a person considering leaving a legacy to a charitable institution. This can lead to the fundraiser benefiting rather than the charitable institution, as a legacy may be left to the individual fundraiser rather than to the charitable institution.
You must make sure fundraisers do not take advantage of a relationship with a potential testator while fundraising. To avoid this, fundraisers:
- must not draft, or be directly involved in drafting, wills in their favour; and
- must tell you about any offer of a personal legacy (rather than a legacy to the charitable institution).
You must have procedures in place to deal with situations where a potential testator offers a personal legacy to a fundraiser.
If you believe a fundraiser has taken advantage of their position to encourage someone to leave them a personal legacy, you must follow appropriate disciplinary procedures.
There are considerable risks in paying the costs involved in making a will which includes a legacy to your charitable institution. If you choose to do this, you:
- must not insist that your charitable institution receives a legacy or is appointed as executor in exchange for paying for the will; and
- must provide clear information about the service being offered and the testator’s options.
If you are using a will-writing partner, providing clear information includes:
- providing information about the level of legal advice the partner will provide;
- giving the testator at least two providers to choose from, without providing a recommendation; and
- making it clear that the will-writing partner will be acting only in the potential testator’s interests and on their instructions.
If you are not using a will-writing partner, providing clear information includes:
- recommending that the potential testator should get independent legal advice.
A testator may set conditions on their legacy, such as how they want the charitable institution to acknowledge the gift. Testators may also say that the legacy must be used for a specific purpose or project.
You will need to consider whether you can meet the conditions or use the legacy for the restricted purpose before you accept it. You may need to get independent legal advice on this. If you cannot meet the conditions or use the legacy for the restricted purposes, you should not accept it.
For more information on accepting and refusing donations, see section 2.2 Accepting, refusing and returning donations.