A letter from a solicitor about someone we never knew
A letter arrives from a firm of solicitors: your charity is named as a beneficiary in the will of a woman who died in the spring. It encloses a copy of the relevant clause. It might be a fixed sum, a share of what is left, or a specific item. The letter goes to the fundraising director, who puts it in a folder and adds a line to a spreadsheet.
Over the following months, there are more letters: requests to confirm your charity's details, estate accounts for approval, an interim payment, questions about a property sale. Some go to finance, some to fundraising, one sits in the post tray over Christmas. When an executor rings to ask whether you received the estate accounts, nobody can find them.
Why legacy admin is hard for small charities
Legacies are infrequent for a small charity, so there is no routine, and each one runs for a long time with many small steps.
- Notifications arrive in the post, addressed to whoever the solicitor thinks is right.
- Each estate has several stages and long gaps between them.
- Correspondence is split between fundraising and finance.
- The type of gift affects how much is expected and when, which finance needs to know.
- Families of the person who died may also contact the charity and deserve careful handling.
- Knowledge sits with one person who has dealt with legacies before.
The gap is a single record per estate that anyone can pick up, with the next step always stated.
What disorganised legacy admin costs
Slow replies to executors can delay estates. Documents that go missing need re-requesting, which is awkward and adds time. Finance lacks a reliable view of expected legacy income, which matters for planning and for your accounts.
There is also a human side. The family of someone who left a gift may want to know how it will be used, and a charity that cannot find the file does not leave a good impression. How legacy income is accounted for is for your finance lead and auditor or examiner; the register gives them the information to decide.
How we build the legacy register
- Legacy letters are scanned when they arrive, or forwarded if received by email, into a dedicated inbox.
- An extraction step reads each document and proposes the estate, the solicitor or executor, the type of gift and any dates or amounts, and a person confirms it against the letter.
- Each estate has one record with its stage, the documents received, correspondence, amounts expected and received, and the next step with a date.
- Reminders prompt the owner when a follow-up is due, for example chasing estate accounts or confirming receipt of a payment.
- Finance sees a view of estates by stage, with notified, expected and received amounts, updated as payments are matched from the bank.
- Family contacts and any wishes about how the gift is used are recorded on the estate, visible to those who need them.
- Completed estates are closed with a summary, and the person who left the gift can be remembered in whatever way your charity chooses.
| Estate stage | Typical document | Next step the register sets |
|---|---|---|
| Notified | Letter with will extract | Acknowledge and confirm charity details |
| In administration | Updates from executor | Periodic check-in date |
| Interim distribution | Payment and letter | Match payment, send receipt |
| Estate accounts | Accounts for approval | Review by finance, reply by date |
| Completed | Final payment | Close record and thank the family if appropriate |
The register organises the admin. Anything that raises a legal question about an estate goes to your own solicitor.
Legacy admin afterwards
When a new notification arrives, it is scanned the same day and appears as a draft record ready to confirm. The fundraising director sees every open estate, its stage and the next action. When an executor phones, whoever answers can open the record and see the latest letter.
At each month end, finance has the notified and expected legacy figures in one place instead of assembling them from folders.
Signs your legacy admin needs this
- Legacy letters are kept in a paper folder.
- Correspondence is split between fundraising and finance.
- An executor has chased you for a reply.
- Finance cannot easily see expected legacy income.
- Only one person knows how legacies are handled.