"AND if he have not before disposed of his goods," the Book of
Common Prayer instructs those visiting the sick, "let him then be
admonished to make his Will, and to declare his debts, what he
oweth, and what is owing unto him; for the better discharging of
his conscience, and the quietness of his Executors. But men should
often be put in remembrance to take order for the settling of their
temporal estates, whilst they are in health."
In recent years, churches have been doing more than ever to
remind churchgoers that a legacy can provide considerable help to
causes that are important to them. But a survey last year by the
market research company ICM Direct, suggests that 61 per cent of
adults in the UK have not even made a will.
A survey of churchgoers in 2009, by the charity consortium
Christian Legacy, found that a quarter of the wills of the
respondents were out of date, and that 19 per cent of them had
never thought of legacy giving. On the other hand, Christian Legacy
say that Christians are more than 50 per cent more likely than
non-Christians to make a charitable bequest.
Every year, about 5000 people leave gifts in their wills to
Church of England parishes, the Stewardship Team of the
Archbishop's Council says, amounting to a total of £50 million.
Large bequests can now have greater impact: last year's budget
reduced the inheritance tax for those who give at least ten per
cent of their estate to charity, where the estate is more than
£325,000, from 40 per cent to 36 per cent.
Parishes across the Church of England can point to the lasting
difference made by bequests. Last Christmas, a gift in the will of
a parishioner allowed the PCC of St John the Baptist's,
Hatherleigh, in Devon, to start renovating community buildings
belonging to the church four years earlier than expected. One
legacy to Halifax Min-ster has provided for £22,000-worth of
repairs to the organ.
St Matthew's, Northampton, and St Paul's, Tongham, in Surrey,
have both appointed children's workers on the strength of bequests.
In 2010, a legacy provided the starting funds for the installation
of a kitchen and lavatory at the base of the bell tower of St
Mary's, Happisburgh, in Norfolk. The refurbishment of Christ
Church, Ward End, Birmingham, is the result of a series of
legacies.
As the value of this form of giving has become more apparent,
dioceses have been seeking to ensure that parishes and parishioners
are more aware of the opportunities. In Manchester, the Diocesan
Stewardship Officer, James Emmerson, gives regular presentations on
legacy giving to the area deans, so that they can pass on
information and resources to churches. He maintains a website,
prints a monthly magazine, and sends out a biannual newsletter that
covers stewardship in general, allowing him to keep will-making on
the parish agenda.
Mr Emmerson encourages PCCs to make a simple policy on legacies
and donations, and to publicise it. The policy should remind
churchgoers that legacies are welcome, and point out the need to
avoid restrictions on how the money should be used. "People will
often make a will, and then live for another ten or 15 years
afterwards, or more," he says. "If they've left the money for a
specific purpose - say, the church roof - it may no longer be
needed. So the policy should encourage unrestric-ted gifts, but
make clear that consultation will take place, to [identify] the
kinds of projects that the person would like their money to be
spent on."
Talking about legacy giving is a sensitive issue, he admits.
"You don't want to be going on about it all the time, but you can't
ignore it."
Other dioceses offer other resources. The Llandaff diocesan
website provides short articles on legacy giving that can be put
into parish magazines. Others, such as the Ely diocese website,
offer detailed guidelines on creating a legacy policy.
A regional legacy officer for Christian Aid, Alison Knight, has
worked over the past 18 months with the dioceses of Oxford, Bath
& Wells, Exeter, and Truro, leading legacy workshops for church
officers.
This co-operation began when it became apparent that many
Christians who make charitable bequests give both to Christian Aid
and to their church, so there was no competition between them. Many
more Christians, however, have not thought to give to charity in
their will at all; so both the NGO and the dioceses hope to benefit
from greater awareness of the possibilities of legacies. Christian
Legacy's survey found that those who leave charitable legacies tend
to give to three or four organisations.
"Lay people involved in running churches tend to be volunteers,
and part of the community. As a result, few parishes were promoting
legacy giving, because people were reluctant to raise the issue
with those they knew well," Mrs Knight says.
Christian Aid had long promoted legacy giving through its
advertising and fund-raising channels. In Christian Legacy's
survey, although only 18 per cent of churchgoers had heard about
legacy giving from their church, 85 per cent had heard about it
from charities.
Mrs Knight's workshops have brought some of the benefits of this
publicity experience to churches, under the title "What if . . . it
was easier to talk about legacies?" She discusses ways in which to
bring up the subject sensitively and appropriately, and the
possibility of using prayers, notices, and sermons to convey the
legacy message.
Further resources for churches are provided by Christian Legacy,
including a magazine for retired people, Promise, and a
Tomorrow's Harvest pack for parishes that contains handouts,
posters, a sermon, a parish-magazine article, and ideas for small
group discussions.
The Archbishop's Council also has a website,
www.churchlegacy.org.uk, where leaflets can be ordered or
downloaded, explaining the advant-ages of giving a legacy and
offering advice on making a will. It also has other material, that
advises PCCs about legacy policy, and how to deal with the issue
appropriately in church.
All these initiatives are recent; so, as any change in the
will-making habits of churchgoers will take a long time to show
fruit, it is too early to talk about results. Mrs Knight believes
there is a long way to go in making Christians aware of the
potential of legacy giving.
In Peterborough, the Stewardship and Funding Officer, Paul
Adams, says that churches in the diocese receive 100 legacies a
year. "The majority are for church fabric, but I'm keen to see more
go towards the missional work of the church and making disciples,"
he says.
He feels that the willingness of Christians to support a church
in their wills is a resource whose potential remains untapped. He
suggests that the best way for PCCs to communicate with churchgoers
on the subject is little and often - a "drip-feed" of information,
so that they are kept aware of the need and opportunity without
feeling pressured.
There is also agreement by legacy officers about the need to
make a proper will, with professional advice, to insure that all
instructions are legally valid, and that all the legator's
intentions are met.
During November, many solicitors take part in Will Aid, when
they draw up a will for a client without a charge, but suggest a
£90 donation to charity. Information, including a list of
participating solicitors, is available from Will Aid.
www.willaid.org.uk
www.churchlegacy.org.uk/
www.parishresources.org.uk/legacies.htm
THESE are some of the things to attend
to after someone has died:
• Notify the GP.
• Register the death at the register office.
• Inform any offices that pay benefits or tax credits.
• Locate the will, checking whether the solicitor has a copy.
Contact the executor, or, if you are the executor, apply for
probate through a solicitor. If there is no will, apply to the
probate registry for letters of administration.
• Make funeral arrangements, remembering any instructions in the
will.
• Return passport and/or driving licence.
Notify any of the following that apply
(some will not apply, if the account was not in the name of the
deceased person):
• employer
• school or college
• accountant
• tax office
• National Insurance office, if self-employed
• local authority council tax department
• insurance companies
• pension provider
• banks
• mortgage provider or landlord
• providers of credit cards, loans, hire purchase, or anything
rented
• utility companies
• TV, phone, and internet providers
• the Bereavement Register and/or the Deceased Preference Service,
to stop unwanted mail
• home help
THINGS to sort out and get in order
before someone dies include the following:
Will: Make sure that
the will is up to date with the person's present intentions, and
that you know where a copy is kept.
Documents: Ensure that you know where all the
paperwork is kept, such as:
• birth certificate
• bank and credit-card statements
• share certificates
• insurance policies, including life insurance
• property deeds
• tax and National Insurance records
• pension statements
• state benefit documents
• utility bills, and any other unpaid bills
• mortgage or rent statements
• records of loans and hire-purchase agreements
• business papers
Funeral: Find out
what the person wants included in his or her funeral, such as
particular hymns and songs, the involvement of specific people, and
the question of burial or cremation.
Living will: If
appropriate, ascertain whether there are medical treatments that
the person does not wish to have, and whether he or she wishes
treatment to be continued in the case of brain death.