The fifth rendition of the annual British Wills and Probate Awards is becoming ever-closer. As we count down to the 20th October at the Grand Hotel in Birmingham, our “Sponsor Spotlight” series will highlight the progression, innovation and achievements of all our sponsors who make the event possible. Here, we speak with Institute of Legacy Management, charity legacy probate collaboration of the year category sponsor.
In a series of Supporters in Focus pieces, we are thrilled to introduce our sponsors of The British Wills and Probate Awards 2022.
Alongside headline sponsor Executor Solutions, we look forward to recognising achievement, highlighting progression and championing innovation.
We’re delighted to have Institute of Legacy Management on board with the fifth year of The British Wills & Probate Awards.
First of all, tell us who you are and what you do?
I am the CEO of the Institute of Legacy Management, the membership body for professionally qualified staff dealing with the administration of gifts left to charities. We have over 630 members working in about 450 charities, who between them deal with about £2.5 billion worth of gifts each year.
Legacy management is a vital service to enable the work of charities. How does the ILM enhance this process, both for practitioners and charities?
We offer training and guidance to both our members, probate professionals and members of the public who are administering gifts in wills. We offer over 200 hours of training each year, as well as issuing written updates on key issues (such as the performance of the probate registry) and offering mentoring and other forms of support to our members.
We work with other professional bodies such as the Law Society and government bodies such as HMCTS and the DCMS to try and resolve issues for everyone’s benefit.
One of our key priorities is to increase the profile and understanding of our members work with probate professionals, and to support both sides of the probate system (executors and beneficiaries) to make the whole system work more smoothly.
Over half of our members are former private client legal professionals, and they have a wealth of knowledge and experience, which we want to share with the wider community.
Legacies are the most highly regulated area of charitable income, and one of our key goals is to increase understanding of the regulatory pressures our members face, to make everyone’s life easier.
What do you think is the biggest challenge the legacy management sector has faced over the last 12 months?
The whole probate system dealt brilliantly with the pressures of the pandemic, with much less disruption than I think anyone expected, and that includes our members, but now we need to work out what the “new normal” looks like for everyone.
The ongoing issue is that thanks to amazing collaborative working between charities and the legal profession, the number of gifts to charity is going up at an astonishing rate. This is brilliant news and is delivering hundreds of millions of pounds of vital charitable income but means that our members are dealing with increasing caseloads with all the pressures this brings.
Working with over 400 charities, you must have a great understanding of where the sector is headed. What are your predictions for the rest of 2022 and beyond?
For the probate sector as a whole I think one of the unexpected side effects of the pandemic has been to emphasise the need for everyone to have a will and combined with death rates which sadly remain above the long term average, I think that highlights the vital role everyone in the sector plays in supporting people during some of the most difficult times of their life.
We think that the number of probate administrations and the number of gifts to charity are both going to continue increasing. One estimate is that legacy income will rise from about £3.3 billion now to about £5 billion by 2030, which is amazing.
For the charity sector, legacy income is becoming one of, if not the most important income sources. It is as close to recession proof as any income stream can be, and the stability of legacy income over the past two years has been one of the things that has kept the sector in reasonable financial health.
What made you support the charity legacy probate collaboration of the year, and what is your message to its entrants?
We wanted to celebrate the brilliant collaborations that are happening across the sector between charities and probate professionals – when we work together we can achieve amazing things, ensuring that vital funds reach good causes.
We wanted to recognise the kind of work that happens all the time but often goes uncelebrated – ensuring that assets realise their full value, making sure that all the relevant tax exemptions are applied, and that the genuine appreciation that charities feel towards legators and their families is passed on.
We would like to thank all the probate professionals who are dealing with charity legacies so effectively and efficiently and working closely with our members to make the whole system work better.
What would ILM like to be known for the most?
As a positive force within the whole system, working collaboratively with all our partners to improve what is already a fantastic sector.
Thank you to Institute of Legacy Management for their support for The British Wills & Probate Awards 2022.
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