Historically, charitable bequest giving has been perceived as an act performed only by the wealthiest in society. In recent years, however, charitable organisations have become more aware of the fundraising potential of legacy gifts from ‘ordinary’ people (Remember a Charity 2019). This has led to an increase in the advertising of legacy bequests and the benefits of these gifts, no matter how small, to charitable organisations. To reflect its increased emphasis, the number of charitable bequests gifted per year has been slowly increasing. The legacy monitoring company Smee & Ford (2019) report that prior to 2012 charitable bequests were lower than 6 per cent; since then this percentage has been consistently higher than 6 per cent. In 2018, 6.3 per cent of the population left a bequest in a will. Currently, charitable bequests are worth around £3 billion to the sector annually. With many charitable organisations facing funding cuts, the income raised through bequests can be vital for the survival of some charities. Philanthropy, and in particular legacy bequests, are seen as ‘a vital income stream for civil society’ (HM Government 2018: 74).

Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 22 people willing to discuss their ideas about what they would like to do with their assets after they pass away, this chapter will explore the factors considered by the interviewees when deciding whether or not to leave a legacy gift to charity in their will. Decisions about whether to leave a gift to a charity are complex and multifaceted, involving the consideration of multiple different factors. Deciding how to distribute an inheritance requires the testator to confront and prioritise multiple potentially competing moral, social and political beliefs as they try to decide which members of future generations need and deserve the money most. Existing research has shown that charitable organisations are often perceived as being secondary to the needs of the family (see Wiepking 2012; James 2015; Routley and Sargeant 2015). While this is true to an extent, I argue that the unique circumstances of each family mean that the story is more complex than this.