Thinking from the executor’s perspective

It’s the responsibility of the legacy administration officer to correspond with personal executors - individuals who may not have had any prior relationship with the charity before administering the estate.

In most cases, a personal executor will be a family member or close friend of the testator and so when a legacy officer writes their first letter, it will be impossible to know how the executor may be feeling, whether they are still grieving, or perhaps feeling anxious about the prospect of administering the estate.

It may well be the first time the executor has administered an estate and they might not know where to begin. Despite being entitled to instruct a solicitor to carry out the work, they may feel a sense of duty to do it themselves.

It’s important to get that first letter right, as it’s the first of what is likely to be many letters during the administration that will enable the legacy officer to build a relationship with the personal executor.

The timing of that first letter is critical too – written too early it may appear insensitive or opportunistic, but written too late it could mean that the legacy is sent to the wrong address, or paid by credit card as an online donation with Gift Aid, which means that the legacy is less likely to be acknowledged correctly.

Approaching with sensitivity

While the legacy officer will need to fulfil the charity’s requirements by requesting certain information to better understand the nature of the gift, it is essential that it’s done so sensitively and leaves the personal executor feeling supported. To build trust and transparency it’s important to explain why the information is needed. For instance, it's better to inform a personal executor early on of the need to provide an estate account when the estate is finalised, rather than spring it upon them after the final payment has been made.

The personal executor may not have any prior experience of completing the numerous forms for probate and HMRC, or selling property, whereas the legacy officer will have more knowledge of this. One of the legacy officer’s roles is to make the interaction with the executor as smooth as possible, which hopefully will mean the charity receives the legacy in a timely manner. So, although a legacy officer cannot offer legal advice, they can provide general advice to assist the executor.

It is important that the charity’s gratitude for the gift is explicit and examples of how the legacy could be spent on the charity’s activities are provided. In the right situation, the legacy officer may be able to put forward options of how a restricted legacy could be spent. This is likely to build the relationship further with the executor feeling valued and listened to.

Recognising opportunities

During the course of the administration, legacy officers will ask the personal executor in writing what may have motivated the testator to have left a gift in their will – vital information which the legacy marketing team can gain from. Often this question goes unanswered; however, if the opportunity arises, such as when sharing bank details over the phone, the legacy officer may find themselves in a situation where they can raise the question again.  In such an instance, they will often reiterate how appreciative the charity is for the legacy and, if appropriate, ask what might have been the reason for the charity’s inclusion in the will. For every legacy, there is person that lived a life which should be celebrated. Some charities can offer to have the testator’s name written into a book of remembrance, recognised in a newsletter with a picture, or added to a plaque.

With good stewardship and having built a positive relationship with that charity, when the personal executor is looking back after the estate had been finalised, they can be sure that their loved one’s legacy has helped the charity with its future activities and appreciate all that the charity did for them. They may go on to support the charity themselves, such as by becoming a regular donor and, in time, even consider leaving a gift in their own will.

Legacy marketing teams who fully understand and value the unique role the legacy administration officer plays in executor stewardship will have so much to gain from working closely together with their legacy administration colleagues, sharing knowledge, best practice and valuable insight.