When and why do charities contact personal representatives and /or next of kin after a person dies

Knowing that I work with charities a number of friends have been asking me about the increasing number of pre Christmas critical comments in the UK press about charities. This started with the press coverage of a report that supposedly highlighted that charities were not spending enough of their income on charitable activities. In my recent critique (Linked here) I have shown that the report was seriously flawed and none of the allegations against the named charities were valid.

At dinner last night I was asked about the recent article in the Times of London entitled ‘Charities cash in on relatives of the dead’. This was about charities following up on legacies and contacting bereaved family members. The impression that a number of people were left with after reading the article was that somehow the charities were availing themselves of confidential data and then harassing the bereaved next of kin to cash in on their loss. The title of the Times article indicates a lack of understanding of what happens in practice or perhaps it is intended to ;make a sensational headline regardless of the truth. ;Charities are not cashing in on relatives of the dead they are simply trying to follow the wishes of the person who has made a will and left a legacy).

Over the dinner table I was asked a number of questions and I thought I would use these questions to explain how all this works.

Why do charities try to get people to mention them in a will?

Some think it is in bad taste for a charity to try and raise income from legacies. I also see some charity trustees that are reluctant to try and raise legacy income. In fact, legacies are an important source of income to charities – whether it is individuals leaving property for the use of the public to the English Heritage, the National Trust or RSPB to smaller gifts to local charities. Legacies are estimated to raise over ￡2 billion for charities each year. The government has tried to encourage bequests to charities and there are fiscal benefits in doing so.

So how do charities find out if they have been mentioned in a will?

There a number of ways. Sometimes the legator informs a charity that the charity has been left a bequest in their will, in most cases the executor / executrix (personal representative who is administering the estate) contacts the charity. Charities also use a service provided by Smee and Ford.

What is Smee and Ford and what do they do?

Smee and Ford is long established probate search agency. Once probate has been granted a will it is accessible to anyone for a nominal fee. Smee and Ford read all probated wills and charities subscribe to service where Smee and Ford notifies the charity when they have been mentioned in a will so that charities can follow up if they have to. This is a useful service and enables charities to efficiently monitor legacies left to them

Why do charities have to follow up?

Usually charities hear from the personal representative but sometimes they don’t. Charities are duty bound to follow up on all bequests that are left to them. Charity trustees would be seen to be negligent if they did not. Also, it is not often understood that many wills are written with a ‘simultaneous death’ or ‘common disaster’ clause to cater for a case where multiple family members may be involved in one accident.

If all die then it is commonly understood by the general law (Section 184 of the Law of Property Act 1925) that the youngest shall be deemed to have survived the elders. This can mean that the estate may pass to unexpected beneficiaries under the laws of succession. For example, Person A might want to leave their estate to person B but if A and B die together and B is deemed to survive A then A's estate could go to B's relatives. A might have been happy for B to inherit the estate but might not want it to pass directly to B's relatives. Therefore, A could include a common disaster clause in a will to say "I leave my estate to B and if B does not survive me by one month then my estate should pass to the XYZ charity”.In a case like this the XYZ charity would need to find out if in fact the estate was passing to them. This would require them to follow up to find out if B had survived for the requisite one month.

In other cases a legator might leave a life interest. This is where a person is given an interest in a property and / or other assets for life or for a shorter period of time. At the point that the life interest ends it reverts another specified party who has a reversionary interest in the property and/or other assets. The other specified party with the reversionary interest may be a charity. If so, the charity would need to ensure that they kept track of their reversionary interest and this might require them following up to check if the person with the life interest is still alive.

Shouldn't the charity just wait to hear from the Personal Representative?

I have been auditing charities for over 30 years and I know that, unfortunately, some personal representative and next of kin do not always want to follow the instructions in a will and would rather not properly transfer assets, cash etc to the charity in line with the legator’s wishes. have seen a number of cases where the next of kin and / or others involved in administering the estate have tried to conceal and/or undervalue the legacy to the charity and it is only the intervention of the charity that leads to it receiving what the legator wanted it to get. The motive for this concealment is usually self gain.

Is this the only reason charities make such contact?

Smee and Ford also run a discretionary service. This is where they notify charities thta have subscribed to the service about wills that leave discretion to the personal representative – For example, the will may say “I leave 10% of my estate to cancer research” or “ I leave 10 % of my estate to charitable causes in Cumbria.”

Charities subscribe to the services by specifying the causes and/ or geographical areas which match the charity. They are informed of a will that may be relevant to them and they can then approach the personal representatives to explain how they might qualify. Most personal representatives welcome this as it allows them to deal with the estate efficiently.

What about the feelings of the bereaved?

In my experience charities are very conscious of the need to handle this sensitively. They usually wait for a period of time expecting that they will be contacted but if this does not happen they then must approach the personal representatives. In some cases this would be the next of kin or another family member. In almost all cases the next of kin do not (or should not) take offence at this.

It is important to recognise that contrary to what one might conclude from reading disparaging press articles most charities are very empathetic in the way they communicate with the next of kin. It is also important to recognise that charity trustees have a duty to act in the best interest of the charity and this means that they should ensure that wherever possible they follow ;the wishes of the legator to ensure they claim what is due to the charity.

Sometimes this may mean that others may feel aggrieved by their actions. In a related Times article entitled Letter to daughter inquired: has your father died yet? the same journalist has quoted from a letter sent by an official at a charity four months after the untimely death of a lady. This said: "I was very sorry to hear that your mother had passed away and I would like to offer my sincere condolences and extend the RSPCA’s sympathy to other family members and friends in their bereavement,”

The charity explained that it received notifications from an agency that attends the Probate Registry and alerts charities to potential legacies and said. “I understand that your mother has very generously bequeathed a legacy of ￡500 to the RSPCA in the event that her husband did not survive her,” the official continued. “We should be grateful if you would confirm whether the information we have received is correct.”

The charity included a stamped addressed envelope “for your kind reply”. The article says the daughter replied, “I can confirm that happily my father is still alive and that, therefore, no legacy in favour of the RSPCA is due from my mother’s will.” “I and my family are still grieving from the unexpected death of my mother. Your letter implies that you are calling into question my integrity as executor of my mother’s estate. Please do not contact me again.”

The RSPCA wrote back to say it was sorry “that our letter caused you and your family such upset”. It is possible to see how such follow up letters can cause upset but I am afraid I do not see this in the same way as the journalist apparently has. The charity's letter is not asking" has your father died yet?" it is simply doing what the charity is required to do - following up on a potential legacy. The tone and tenor of the charity's letter does not seem unfeeling. The charity can not presume that the personal representatives will correctly contact hem for, as I mentioned earlier, sadly experience has shown that sometimes the integrity of a personal representative is questionable.

In conclusion

It seems that charities are damned if they do and damned if they don't. If charities do not do what they are required to do they are criticised for being inefficient and, in cases such as the ones cited, being negligent in not following up on the wishes of a legator. If they do follow up then they are seen to be "cashing in on relatives of the dead." More considered and less inflammatory press reporting on such matters is what is needed.