Legacies & Wills
Many churches would be delighted to receive a legacy from a former worshipper. We are pleased to announce that new legacy materials, produced by the national church and customised for Bath & Wells, are available to help your parish encourage church members to leave a gift to your church in their will.
The materials, launched at Diocesan Synod in July 2011 and distributed to each parish, consist of a parish guide, a poster, and leaflets and booklets for your church members. The new national legacy service also makes it easy for people to leave gifts in their will to the wider church or any Christian or humanitarian cause.
Encouraging legacies
A parish wishing to encourage people to leave a gift to the church in their will must act with sensitivity. Advice is given in the Short Guide to Encouraging Giving through Legacies. Does your PCC have a legacy policy? We recommend that the PCC makes and publicises a policy explaining what the church will do with any money that is given as a gift in someone’s will. Andrew Rainsford, Stewardship Adviser has written a document to aid PCC discussion on what your parish would do with a legacy - click here.
Good Will suppers/lunches are a proven way of introducing the subject and could be held in your parish/benefice/LMG. Such events offer an informal atmosphere in which people can discuss how to go about making or amending a will, with speakers from the local and national church and a local solicitor present. Christian Aid's Regional Legacy Officer has offered to run joint events with individual parishes or benefices - please contact us or contact Christian Aid direct if this would be of interest.
Legacy leaflets and booklets for church members have been distributed to parishes and are also downloadable under Making your will below.
There are also useful articles in the online Church Times, including You can’t take it with you, which deals with making wills.
Some facts and figures
- Legacies are 10 times more effective than giving.
- Gifts in Wills account for about 7% of national parish voluntary income every year.
- Legacies are a very cost-effective form of fundraising.
- Only one in eight Wills leave any money to a charity.
- Two-thirds of people living in the South West have not made a Will.
- Wills are not just for older people - parents of young familiies need Wills to appoint guardians.
- Only one-quarter of the population under 44 makes a Will, half of those aged 45 - 64, and two-thirds of those over 65.
- Most people need to review their Will at least once every 5 years.
- 170 bequests were made to parishes in Bath & Wells in 2010. The average bequest was just under £6,900.
- Residuary gifts (% of the estate) tend to be considerably larger than Pecuniary gifts (fixed sums).
Making your Will
The Your Gift Your Choice leaflet and Lasting Difference booklet (printed versions available through parishes) give information on how to leave a gift in your will to your church and offer advice on how you can make sure your will reflects your desire to support your parish church’s mission and ministry after you die. You should always take advice from a solicitor when making your will. You may wish to order a free follow-on pack which includes how to prepare for a visit to your solicitor and the new legacy service from the Church of England, which makes it easy to give to the wider Church and any other Christian or humanitarian organisation through a single gift in your will. The follow-on pack can be ordered through the diocesan office, the Church’s legacy website or by phoning the helpline on 08445 870875.
The Church has encouraged members to make sure their wills are up-to-date since the first Book of Common Prayer:
‘And if he have not before disposed of his goods, let him then be admonished to make his will . . .. . . men should often be put in remembrance to take order for the settling of their temporal estates, whilst they are in health.’ Order for the Visitation of the Sick, Book of Common Prayer
Will Aid
Will Aid, held every November, is an excellent opportunity to encourage parishioners to make a will, keep their existing will up-to-date and to include a legacy gift to their parish church. People can make their will with a one of the solicitors taking part in the Will Aid scheme and then donate their fee to participating charities instead of the solictor. A list of local participating solicitors is available each year through the Will Aid website.
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