Charities lose out in wills, according to Standard Life

Prior to the recent Budget nearly three quarters (71%) of the UK population said they wouldn't leave money to charities in their Will, according to research by long-term savings and investment company Standard Life.

In the past year more than two-fifths (43%) of Britons said they would rather leave their estate to friends and families than give money to charities.

Other reasons why the public don't plan to give to charities include a quarter (27%) thinking they couldn't afford to do so and one in 10 (10%) believing they give enough money to charity during their lives.

However, the Chancellor has announced plans to introduce an inheritance tax saving from April next year to those willing to leave 10 per cent of their estate to charities. This could drive a change in attitude from the general public when considering the third sector in their Will.

Julie Hutchison, head of estate planning at Standard Life, said: "As families face economic uncertainty and tightening purse strings it's easy to see why the public might not consider charities in their Wills. But under the new proposals the amount of tax they could pay will drop from 40 to 36 per cent, from next year. This will mean they could provide more to their family by donating money to charitable causes, which could be a ‘win-win' for both parties.

"The complications surrounding IHT and estate planning are vast. And the announcement in the Budget certainly doesn't make the difficult decision of who to leave your money to any easier. Hopefully what this announcement has done though is encourage people to review and revise their Wills, or even create one. To ensure everything is done correctly I would encourage people to seek professional advice to discuss their estate planning requirements."

The research shows the people of Wales & the South West of England and Scotland are the least likely (73%) to leave part of their estate to charity. These regions are closely followed by the North of England (72%) and the Midlands (71%) with the South East (69%) the most likely to do so.

The research also shows single people (35%) are more likely to give their estate to charities than married/cohabiting or widowed/separated/divorced couples. Nearly three quarters (73%) of men do not plan to consider a charity in their Will - this is higher than the equivalent statistic for females (69%).