New research issued by Remember A Charity during their Remember A Charity in Your Will Week revealed almost a third (30%) believed that they only need to make a Will if they are very rich.
Last week’s campaign sought to encourage everyone to have a Will in place and to consider leaving a gift to charity after family and friends are taken care of.
Over two thirds (68% ) of adults across the UK don’t have a completed Will in place (47% of over 55s), with nearly two in five respondents (37%) assuming it will automatically go to their partner and children.
With 30% of Brits believing they are not wealthy enough to write a Will, many also believe that Will-writing is time-consuming (30%), complicated (28%) and expensive (27%). Only 1 in 4 (25%) say they have planned for death.
This is worrying news for the legacy consortium, Remember A Charity, as this misunderstanding of Wills could risk inheritance failing to reach dependants, loved ones and charities.
Furthermore, many Brits are unaware of the flexibility and benefits of legacy giving. More than half (57%) don’t know that giving to charity is exempt from inheritance tax and over one fifth (22%) believe that you have to be wealthy to donate to charity from your Will.
Rob Cope, Director of Remember A Charity said:
“We’ve certainly seen from the research that there is a huge knowledge gap about how Wills and inheritance works.
“This remains a key barrier to growing legacy giving and underlines the importance for working together with solicitors, Will-writers, government and other partners to reduce intestacy.
“Writing a Will is the only way for the public to ensure their final wishes are met. But the great news is that it can be both quick and easy.”
Without a Will in place, an estimated 27.9 million Brits are leaving their final wishes at the mercy of Government intestacy rules. In England and Wales, if someone dies intestate and there is a surviving partner, any children and close family will only inherit in some circumstances. Meanwhile, in Scotland, the estate would be divided according to the rules of succession.
James Antoniou, Head of Wills at Co-op Legal Services added:
“The importance of having a valid Will shouldn’t be under-estimated. Many people wrongly think that their loved ones will automatically inherit their assets when they die but this isn’t the case. If a person dies without a Will then they lose control of what happens to their estate meaning that their final wishes may not take effect, leaving disappointed loved ones behind.”
The large majority (70%) of Brits believe their family will easily agree on how to divide assets between themselves, despite recent figures from the Ministry of Justice showing that inheritance disputes have trebled over the past decade.
To help shed some light on these misconceptions, Remember A Charity has been working with BAFTA award-winning comedian Matt Berry to create a series of comedy films that challenge the biggest myths about gifts in Wills, inspiring people to consider including their favourite charity in their Will. The films can be viewed through the Remember A Charity website.
Rob Cope adds:
“Legacy giving is absolutely vital to the charity sector and every gift counts – no matter what size.”
As part of Remember A Charity’s tenth awareness week, Rob Cope further commented that they wanted:
“…to inspire the public to pass on something wonderful and make a real difference to future generations by taking action and writing a gift in their Will.”
