It is fair to state that the work associated to a charitable beneficiary is usually greater than that of a noncharitable beneficiary.
The reasons for this are largely down to the rules and regulations that the charity themselves need to adhere to, meaning that additional evidence and documentation are required to enable decisions to be made demonstrating diligence has been adhered to.
So, what is a solicitor to do?
With more work being required but billable hours being under the microscope – the question starts to become ‘how can these matters be managed efficiently, meeting the SRA guidelines, and without ending up costing you your chargeable time?’
Over the years PLG have worked with some of the UK’s largest and most recognised charities, aswell as some of the smaller – lesser-known ones.
All of this work has been introduced by law firms such as Michelmores (Exeter), who identify our services as being the perfect answer to managing service levels to the standards required to mitigate both the law firm and the charity itself.
1. Time Scales
- Charities are required to satisfy the requirements of both the Charity Commission and of their auditors, which mean that they have a duty to ensure funds are claimed and accounted for in a timely way.
- Our property sales approach works to guarantee that a buyer is secured at the highest possible price, and within the fastest timescale. The methods we use are proven to work, and we are able to demonstrate and back up the recommendations we give you. As we specialise in probate property matters our team are trained to handle the expectations of the buyers, meaning we use the time for the GOP to arrive, and the estate administering process in our favour. This enables us to fulfil our guarantee of completion within the fastest timescale, as per the first charities governance requirements.
2. Maximising the Value of Assets
- Maximising the value of assets by way of the best use of tax exemptions, and being able to demonstrate this to their auditors.
- We are perfectly placed to assist with the identifying and sale of chattels. Our team of experts in various fields enable PLG to provide evidence that all values are correct and completed diligently, and when sold that the buyer is nonrelated to PLG or any of our ‘support partners’.
Additionally, our invoicing is both fair and transparent meaning our charges and the use of funds to pay us for our services and general administrative purposes – which helps with CGT.
3. Identifying Issues
- The charity will require support to ensure any potential issues are identified as early as possible.
- In the majority of cases, probate runs smoothly, however there will always be the matters where there is an issue. Where PLG are unable to account for will disputes, what we are very good at is ensuring what is usually the largest asset within the estate is managed accordingly.
Our involvement will enable the identification of any structural problems, or registry issues that would result in any delays. It also means that we can start working on the solution in the earliest opportunity.
With this way of working, we are able to overcome any complexities associated with the selling of property. For a large charity who are dealing with hundreds of cases a year with property attached to them, we are able to help maintain their cashflow which can also potentially impact investment decisions. Ultimately, we help to make charities more efficient with their forecasting and budgeting.
4. Charity Staff
- Just because someone may work for a charity, it does not mean they are qualified in estate administration. This particularly applies to charities that are new to legacies or have not been named before.
- Our team are able to guide charity team members through the process with as much ‘hand holding’ as they do, or do not require. We use straight forward terminology and language that everyone can understand, and if they do not then we will just explain further.
Our reports provide all the viewing information and feedback, along with our recommendations and any advice that we may feel is relevant. We do not use unnecessary technical wording and we always make sure that those we are working for have direct access to each member of the PLG team who are supporting them.
One way that we are saving charities money is with our IHT Compliant, Section 119 Valuation Report that satisfies the requirements of The Charities Act 2011.
At the lower fee of £175+VAT, our reports are straight forward and easy to read. They also come with the ‘PLG Aftercare Guarantee’, meaning if a District Valuer or another noncharitable beneficiary questions our findings we will produce further evidence and documentation to support our reports at no extra cost.
When we consider what a RICs minimum fee is, this immediately ticks the maximising of assets, and this is before we even start to market the property for sale.
Our core values centre around the needs of our clients. It is what we stand for and why we were established in the first place.
To us it doesn’t matter who the beneficiary is, they all deserve to receive what the maker of the will instructed. We just make sure that we are able to help you do your part in this process whilst making it less stressful for you and the charities you are representing.
For further information, please contact:
Darren P. Leggett
Co-Owner PLG
darren.leggett@theplgroup.co.uk
0330 124 7434
This article was submitted to be published by Property Ladder Group as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Wills and Probate. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Wills and Probate
