Despite people having less to give, charity gifting is still an important part of people’s legacies, according to recent research carried out by the will-writing firm Farewill.

More than 25 per cent of will writers left a donation to charity in 2023, despite rising living costs. The typical charity partner received £1.01m in 2023, up 20 per cent from £0.84m in 2022, with Gen Z and baby boomers giving the most.

Farewill analysed anonymous data from thousands of wills people wrote with the firm in 2023 and compared it to their data from 2016 through to 2022.

Younger generation leave more to charity

The younger generation—typically described as those born between 1997 and 2012—left the most to charity, with 31 per cent putting it in their wills. This could be because middle-aged people have young dependents who anticipate getting most of the estate, while baby boomers and Gen Z have more estate flexibility.

Wills containing stocks and shares declined 14 per cent since 2022. Families may have sold assets to cover immediate needs during the cost of living crisis.

The number of people including crypto assets in their wills dropped by two-thirds in 2023, to its lowest level since 2020 in line with lower bitcoin prices. Those leaving crypto assets are mostly those of Gen Z, millennials and Gen X age.

Home-owning and wills

Another interesting finding relates to home-owning, with 90 per cent of the post-war generation (born 1928 to 1945) owning their home outright, compared to 69 per cent of baby boomers, 25 per cent of Gen X and 13 per cent of millennials.

The millennials left property in their wills nearly as often as baby boomers, 45 per cent compared to 49 per cent.

Only 26 per cent of Gen Z wills include property. However, individuals who owned property were twice as likely to possess it outright as millennials. This may indicate that only the wealthiest Gen Z can buy homes.

Money left for pets

The research also reveals that pets are increasingly important, with 37 per cent of wills setting out plans for pets, an increase of 7 per cent from the previous year. Pet ownership spiked during the lockdowns, but many people will have lately updated their wills, so this number may keep rising.

Jewellery, luggage, and shoes gifts are still valued, with older generations in about a third of wills leaving instructions for what they want done with their jewellery. Younger generations leave shoes, clothes, and bags three times more often than older ones.

There is also a rise in popularity of simple funerals, with more wills specifying “no fuss” and similar, an increase of 22 per cent since 2019, and direct cremations where there is no service at all up from 3 per cent to 20 per cent.

Intestacy rules – what happens if you die without leaving a will?

Danny Curran, founder and CEO of the probate genealogy firm Finders International, says: “Farewill’s research is fascinating reading, particularly in relation to charity giving, but it is worth remembering that there are still a lot of people out there who are dying intestate, i.e. who pass away and do not have a will at all.

“The UK rules of intestacy dictate what happens in these cases. Intestacy rules serve as a default process for distributing a deceased person’s estate when there is no valid will. The rules are designed to ensure the fair distribution of assets based on familial relationships.”

Intestate rules first consider whether the deceased left a surviving spouse or civil partner. If there is a surviving spouse or civil partner but no children, the entire estate usually passes to them.

However, if there are children, the surviving spouse or civil partner will receive a statutory legacy (a fixed sum) and personal chattels, while the remaining estate is divided equally between the spouse or civil partner and the children.

The full break-down of intestacy rules and the order of inheritance can be read here. If you need help tracing beneficiaries to a will, Finders International specialises in tracing next-of-kin to unclaimed estates. Contact them by email: [email protected] or phone +44 (0) 20 7490 4935.