A new report has indicated discontent with the working relationship for those specialising in charitable legacies.
Launched last week, the report found that probate practitioners and legacy officers felt unhappy and frustrated with elements of working together, suggesting a need for improving the collaboration between the groups.
The report looked at the following key areas:
- The need for greater collaboration
- The understanding and competency of relevant legal, regulatory and tax areas
- The frequency and tone of communication
- The understanding of the other group’s needs
- The obstacles in the effective administration of charity legacies
- The requirement of formal regulation and increased guidance
- The reputational issue charities face
Based on an independent survey administered by Research Oxford, the report was written by the charity sector at law firm Penningtons Manches.
The level of satisfaction was measured on a five-point scale, highlighting the areas which those working with charitable legacies were most dissatisfied with. The report indicated that both groups were largely content with their own areas of experience, but were less so with the work of others.
For example, whilst 82% of legacy officers feel that their approach to work is compassionate, caring and personalised, just over half (54%) of probate practitioners are of the same view.
In terms of experience levels, 34% of legacy officers with high experience were worried about the understanding of probate practitioners in regard to tax exemptions and relief. A slightly higher figure (38%) felt satisfied with the willingness of probate practitioners to accept help with the requirements of charity law. Similarly, 38% of legacy officers were not satisfied with update frequency which probate practitioners provided.
Commenting on the figures was Alison Talbot. The head of charities at Penningtons Manches highlighted the findings of the report and her own surprise at the level of discontent felt by some respondents.
“Through our day-to-day work we’d picked up on some tensions between legacy officers and probate practitioners. We undertook this research to gain a more thorough and accurate understanding of their relationship and to try and explore the wider themes behind our anecdotal observations. In analysing the data we were in fact surprised by the strength of discontent expressed by some participants.”
She went on to highlight the wider impact of the dissatisfactory relationship between the two groups, given the importance of their role in regard to charity legacy access.
“The attitude of some probate practitioners is a real concern for charities. It might be that some of them feel defensive or some simply do not understand the requirements of charities in relation to the collection of charity legacies. However, even if the charity sector finds the views of the probate practitioners frustrating, it has to take notice of the concerns as these individuals are often the gatekeepers to future charity legacies.”
“For the probate practitioners, there are some salutary messages about the perceived standards of service and competency. The report exposes shortcomings amongst some probate practitioners when dealing with technical issues that can arise in the administration of estates involving charities, and the regularity with which some mistakes are being made is a real worry.”
Alison concluded by drawing attention to the purpose of the report, aiming to improve the relationship and in turn, make the process as straightforward as possible in future.
“One of the aims of this research was to identify ways in which the charity sector and probate practitioners can work together to make each other’s roles easier. The next stage in this process is for the Penningtons Manches charities team to work with leaders in both the charity, legal and accountancy sectors to raise awareness of the complexities and nuances of administering estates which include legacies to charities. We also look forward to encouraging everyone involved in managing charity legacies to discuss the issues identified by the survey participants and to collaborate with each other to make sure the process of administering charitable legacies is as straightforward as possible.”
Also sharing his thoughts on the report was Chris Milward. The Chief Executive of the Institute of Legacy Management highlighted the importance of the findings for the industry, stating: ‘We welcome this research and the insight it provides into the crucial relationship between charity legacy professionals and solicitors. The problems highlighted are sadly very familiar to the Institute of Legacy Management and our members. We thank Penningtons Manches for providing a renewed focus on these issues and hope this research will act as a springboard for better understanding, improved communication and increased collaboration between charity legacy professionals and solicitors.
‘The Institute of Legacy Management will continue to work hard to protect our shared capacity to ensure that every donor’s charitable legacy achieves its greatest potential.”
