Gifts in wills don’t reach their intended charity due to legal processing errors or executors deciding not to pay the money.
The Bequests Promised v Bequests Realised research by Bequest Assist, which took a year to carry out, has uncovered that an estimated 3 in 100 wills included a gift promised to a charity but was never paid.
Include a Charity and Philanthropy Australia, who partnered in commissioning the research work, now call for urgent probate reform to make sure all gifts in wills reach the intended NFP and honour the donor’s wishes to leave a legacy gift to worthwhile causes.
“In the current system, it is up to charitable beneficiaries to ensure that every gift is realised,“ said Helen Beeby, Include a Charity Campaign Director. “With the government call to double philanthropic giving in Australia by 2030, this study highlights the urgent need for Australia to reform the probate courts and adopt a model of probate like the UK to ensure all charitable bequests are fulfilled.”
In the UK, there’s a uniform, centralised approach wherein digitised wills are provided with one low fee to purchase a will. There’s also an organisation that scans all wills and informs charities of any legacy gifts, called Smee & Ford.
As part of the national research study, over $273,000 of missing gifts were returned to charities and more are still being processed.
“The results of this research concern me deeply but aren’t surprising from what I’ve observed working in estate administration for charities,“ said Morgan Koegel, Managing Director of Bequest Assist and the research’s lead. ”They also give me great cause for hope as the solutions are obvious and achievable.”
Meanwhile, for Rebecca Moriarty, Knowledge Lead at Philanthropy Australia, there has been a good case of collaboration between their organisations and others within the sector, as they have delivered tangible benefits and built up their knowledge and evidence base in an important area of giving.
“Philanthropy Australia aims to deliver positive value and change,“ Moriarty said. “The many generous bequestors in Australia want to see the not-for-profits they care about thrive and having that gift realised by their intended NFP is how we can achieve that.”
Read also: High cost of living dictates charitable giving trends – research
Geraldine is currently the Content Producer for Third Sector, an Akolade channel. Throughout her career, she has written for various industries and international audiences. Her love for writing extends beyond the corporate world, as she also works as a volunteer writer at her local church. Aside from writing, she is also fond of joining fun runs and watching musicals.
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