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Implementing a Legacy Policy
Notes For Parochial Church Councils (PCCs)
- Why have a legacy policy? Why should the church encourage people not only to have but also to update their wills?
- Because it is part of the Christian Stewardship philosophy of giving back a token part of available wealth and possessions in thanks to God.
- Keeping wills up-to-date is not only sound financial management, but good Christian discipleship (as shown in the Book of Common Prayer).
- Many of the major charities depend on legacies for income (up to 60% in some cases) and the church should have a share of this market.
- Recent research suggests that 57% of adults in the UK have not drawn up a will, including 40% of people with homes worth more than £150,000.
- We should be reminding people to update their wills to take into account any recent changes in status (e.g. marriage): revision can be done by both young and middle aged as well as the more elderly.
- If someone does not write a will, the law provides a complex formula which almost certainly does not realise what the persons themselves would have wanted.
- Out of date wills (e.g. old addresses, missing beneficiaries) can cause unnecessary complications, distress and costs for the surviving family and friends.
- This is however, as with all money matters connected with the church, a very sensitive area, and any action in this field needs to be planned and executed with great care. We must at all costs avoid giving the impression that the only reason for being in contact with potential donors is that all we are after is their money! It should ideally be part of the parish's total Stewardship and Pastoral programme, not something that is given special prominence on its own. It is likely that potential makers of a will in the church's favour already have strong connections with the church, and may be regular givers under a Stewardship programme anyway.
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It is absolutely vital that the PCC discusses legacy policy in depth Get all the issues properly identified, and determine how legacy policy will fit into existing Stewardship or Pastoral programmes. If you have a Parish Giving Adviser or a Stewardship Steering Group these may be the best people to formulate policy recommendations.
The PCC should consider
- The most appropriate approach to encourage church members to not only make but also to review their wills. Availability of introductory leaflets (some are available nationally) or parish magazine articles, should create the necessary ambient encouragement. Consult the website www.churchlegacy.org.uk
- Ensuring if possible that the money given under a will is well spent on a specific project. Donors are less inclined to give if they know that the money is likely to be spent on the general day-to day running of the church (see also 4 (d) below).
- If the parish operates an annual Stewardship renewal programme, whether the best approach may be to include an insert on legacies within the annual renewal literature pack.
- Whether different approaches need to be made to different age-groups in the congregation.
- Letters may be written to either the whole congregation or specially selected parts of it. Research shows that most people are happy to receive low-key reminders about reviewing their wills and leaving legacies – they are used to receiving them from many larger charities, and even radio and TV adverts.
A one-to-one visiting approach specifically on this subject is not advisable.
- Routine pastoral visiting is one way of publicising the need to update a will, if the donor asks for it: the incumbent or member of a pastoral team may be the natural 'first point of contact'.
- The Parish Giving Adviser is the natural ‘second point of contact’.
- Having all PCC members review their personal wills to show leadership.
- Having a “Wills and legacies” item on the PCC agenda at least once a year.
- Having occasional articles and news items about wills and legacies etc in the parish magazine or newssheets.
- There are four main types of gift which can be made in a will:
- Pecuniary legacy - a gift of a specific amount of money.
- Residuary legacy - a gift of part of the estate after all costs and other gifts have been paid.
- Reversionary legacy - a gift left to someone with instructions that it is to pass to another person on the death of the first person.
- Specific legacy/bequest - a gift of a particular item, such as a painting, jewellery, portfolio of shares or the whole of your estate.
If any "steering" is to be done, this should be towards a residuary legacy (probably a percentage rather than an absolute amount), and being as unrestrictive as possible. People will only leave money to the church if they think that it will be used for development projects, and not simply to fund current operating expenses. Encourage leaving of legacies for the “general purposes of the parish” and discuss with executors what use the money should be put to.
- Things to take particular care over
- Churches are advised not to get involved in either subsidising or writing wills, or even providing proforma documents, as all this should be left to a solicitor. If a will is contested, the church is better off out of any dispute.
The nationally produced “A simple guide to making or revising your will” is invaluable here.
- Thanking all legators, both privately and publicly.
- When the policy is firmed up and agreed by the PCC, announce this publicly. Like many other aspects of Stewardship, the more people get talking about it, the better. When money is left to the church the (late) donor should be thanked publicly (and this may be done e.g. in the Parish Magazine). People do talk about money issues much more openly nowadays.
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Bear in mind also
- that the ones who might benefit might be e.g. future generations of children, or those who most appreciate the tradition of the church;
- that the church has enjoyed benefits through recent legacies, and this should be publicised;
- that you should not make assumptions as to who will give and who won't;
- that the donor should on no account be pressurised into publicising the fact that he or she is leaving money to the church.
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