Research project examines wills and legacies now and in the future [
ONE OF THE last activities carried out by Legacy Foresight under its former name was the Charitable Wills in the 21st Century project. The survey explored will-making and charitable legacies both now and into the future – considering the implications for legacy fundraisers and managers. The project was funded by a consortium of 30 leading charities, whose key findings have been made available. Remarking on the project, Legacy Foresight said: “We started the project with heads buzzing about the prospect of blockchain (the cryptocurrency technology) wills, the growth of digital assets and the raft of new companies entering the online will-making market. COVID-19 forced relaxation of the rules surrounding the making and witnessing of wills and propelled more people towards online wills. We started to imagine a new landscape that would look very different from today.” The emphasis of the briefing report issued following the project, however, was on ‘evolution, not revolution’, echoing Pierre Balmain’s famous dictum on fashion. “Despite temporary relaxations of the rules surrounding making and witnessing wills, the Law Commission is cautious and has other pressing priorities. The experts we spoke to don’t expect an overhaul of our 19th-century will-making laws, or greater regulation of will-writing. Instead, voluntary codes of conduct and more explicit standards seem likely. Likewise, most consumers are fairly conservative in this area, wishing to honour a document they feel should be taken seriously, made securely and protected from fraud.” Nevertheless, the authors see online willmaking as being ‘here to stay’. Reviewing the document on the Legacy Foresight blog, donor researcher Sue
Pedley writes: “Although fully digital wills are some way off, online wills are undoubtedly here to stay. They’re seen as a lucrative market, and the pandemic has accelerated usage and acceptance. There will be a push factor from suppliers who see considerable value in upselling services, rich digital data and charity partnerships. Over the next five years, we are likely to see a shakeout, as brands jostle for position in a sector that has attracted many new entrants.” So-called ‘millennials’ are seen as likely to be the first generation to fully embrace the concept. Sue Pedley continued: “We think that millennials will be the first generation to make a significant change to the way wills are made. They have grown up with digital technology, and in any context expect and accept a range of technical solutions. 19% of millennials with a will currently wrote them online – compared to 8% of all adults – and a similar proportion plan to write their will online the next time around. What’s harder to predict is whether they will become more conservative as they age, but we suspect not.” The document concludes by looking to ‘Phase 2’ of its work, which will look at how the market has panned out – whether it fits with the trends identified. “Given the extraordinary circumstances surrounding this year’s project, burning new questions have emerged which are as yet unanswerable. How will the will-
making industry and legacy donors’ needs change in the aftermath of the pandemic? What will this mean for legacy fundraisers, operating in such a tough and uncharted environment? Once the immediate crisis is over, we plan to set up a new phase of research to explore these issues in more detail. We hope that you will join us.” The industry awaits the results with bated breath. The briefing report for Charitable Wills in the 21st Century can be downloaded from www.legacyforesight.co.uk. q
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