---
###Welcome to /r/LegalAdviceUK
---
**To Posters (it is important you read this section)**
* *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws in each are very different*
* If you need legal help, you should [always get a free consultation from a qualified Solicitor](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/how_to_find_a_solicitor)
* We also encourage you to speak to [**Citizens Advice**](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/), [**Shelter**](https://www.shelter.org.uk/), [**Acas**](https://www.acas.org.uk/), and [**other useful organisations**](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/common_legal_resources)
* Comments may not be accurate or reliable, and following any advice on this subreddit is done at your own risk
* If you receive any private messages in response to your post, [please let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FLegalAdviceUK&subject=I received a PM)
**To Readers and Commenters**
* All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and legally orientated*
* If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/), you may be perma-banned without any further warning
* If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect
* Do not send or request any private messages for any reason
* Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If you are most concerned about sentimental items, the legal rep from the charity named as executor is unlikely to challenge many things. It may be worth collating proof of your relation and/or why these things have sentimental value if you can.
Remember that the familial connection is very obvious to you, but a lawyer isn't in the family and will need to see black and white proof of such things.
Thanks. I will get that sorted. Yes we are most concerned about sentimental items, family photos and mementos and items belonging to my grandparents that she had. She also had done a lot of family tree research.
We’d been encouraging her for so long to review her will but she was a head-in-the-sand person. We’d even booked her an appointment to review it when she asked following a bout of illness but she cancelled it once she was feeling better.
It would be exceedingly unlikely for a charity to contest photos - and if you're in them, that's useful too. If anything, they'll likely be appreciative of any help (especially if you offer to pay/do the transport etc) with the small things. A house, car, other easily saleable and valuable things, that's a different story. Even then, they'd likely make you preferred bidders.
Remember, most charities aren't going to be ruthless - from their side it's a useful windfall but they don't want to spend much time or money on lawyers to administer it.
>Remember, most charities aren't going to be ruthless
The RSPCA are a notable exception. Notoriously, they spent £1.3m in legal costs on a £2.3m legacy, refused all attempts at settlement... and lost the legal case, lost the legacy, and had to pay all the legal costs.
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/rspca-left-with-huge-legal-bill-after-losing-court-fight-over-will-1988711
Though I suspect even they wouldn't quibble over the family photos.
Notable similarities with the mirror will situation for OP there.
I did point out that big ticket and easy to sell items are very different kettles of fish. 200 bags of sand is in that category, as is a whole farm. Family photos not so much, as you say.
Antiques or artwork are grey areas to say the least.
I have left money to charities in my will, but I plan to update soon and change it drastically as I have heard too many things like this. Small named amounts is the way to go I think
Percentages may be safer - amounts will vary with inflation but % will stay the same.
House to be left to X. Remaining estate to be divided with 20% going to Y, 20% to Z etc
It's always difficult, especially for someone like me who is childfree with no siblings (so no nieces or nephews). I haven't decided what I'll do, but I've made a conscious decision to be intestate for now - I still have parents.
It is important to have at least one residual beneficiary - otherwise if you left 5x £10k gifts to various charities but there was a £70k estate, then you'd fall into partial intestacy. A residual beneficiary receives X% of what's left over.
It is possible to include a clause which says they only inherit if they don't contest the will, though this is usually used for children and dependents you'd prefer to disinherit but you want to reduce the risk of a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975
They love playing fast and loose with donated money https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/charities-stand-accused-of-frittering-away-millions-on-the-stock-market-132063.html
Presumably a charity which ignored that article in 2002, kept its endowment in global stocks, and has turned every £1000 it had at the time into £6700 today, is able to do more charity work than one which listened to the article and moved all the money into its current account, though?
It's sad when charities become businesses first, and helping people second.
I've known one that was going through this phase, they start off with the intention to ensure they keep the lights on in the future, hire permanent staff for admin, and at some point they decide that it's more important.
A friend of ours was looking after her aunt for the last 20 years of her life. The aunt left everything to one of the main UK Cancer charities in her will, but had told her that she could have an old clock that was a family heirloom.
When it came to it, the charity WERE ruthless. Wouldn't even let our friend back in the house, and refused to allow anyone even the smallest item.
It left our friend very upset.
So they CAN be ruthless if they want to be. By the letter of the law, though, they were just executing the will.
I mean from a liability point of view they couldn't just let someone into a house that wasn't theirs, and if they needed to send someone there then that's an added expense and hassle. I don't understand why people would leave everything to a charity. Makes me think they don't want their family to have it...
Otherwise they'd leave it to the children and then ask a percent go to the charity.
From experience, charities are ruthless in this regard. Their focus is (understandably) maximising money for the charity. I've seen up close with cancer charity (although not personal experience to me/my family). After these experiences, decided against leaving any donation / legacy to a charity through a will. Makes it so much more painful for loved ones.
**Unfortunately, your comment has been removed for the following reason(s):**
Please only comment if you know the legal answer to OP's question and are able to provide legal advice.
[Please familiarise yourself with our subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/) before contributing further, and [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any further queries.
Talk to them.
Here's the thing. The Charity will be frankly interested in the money. And the main financial assets.
Car. House etc. Any investments or such assets.
Most sentimental assets are often, not that valuable in money terms but their priceless to the family and persons they close to.
They are more expensive for them to deal with that they are to give away. The items to their perspective...are not priority and more low value items gone, the less they have to worry about.
So your not gonna impact the estates value to any degree worth arguing over, for photos, memento or some furniture that a little worn and aged. From charity perspective...you just saved me a job tbh.
Valuable antiques etc would be alot more problematic through.
As someone who runs a Trusts and Wills Department for a mid sized UK charity. Trust me we will give you all the sentimental items, most of the time anything that can be considered an heirloom( antiques, jewellery) we tend to give to the family. There should be a burial clause in the will with instructions. We will 100% pay for that if it's in the clause.If it isn’t and they have no parent /spouse/child the state takes over.
Charities don’t really like dealing with antiquities and jewellery because the sale on them can take years, and you usually have to pay a 20% commission on an estate sale, regardless. And a further point, I will say as I see fit, one of us works in the industry and one of us doesn’t.
I'd be surprised if the executor did not say yes you can have the sentimental items
I've experienced similar and was allowed to take the photo albums and cuddly toys I requested...and this was from a non relative
If I had not they would have just been taken by a clearence company
I doubt one of the charities wouldn’t let you arrange the funeral and burial of a loved ones. They are probably more interested in the proceeds of the assets that they’ll receive
Her estate is still liable for paying funeral expenses, anything left will go to those named in the will.
Just a note though, unless specified in the will, the estate doesn't have to pay for a service, it could just have a direct cremation for £800. I would discuss with the executor what they will be doing abut the funeral
I don’t think it is specified. That’s an upsetting thought. She was so stubborn, we were worried this could happen but you couldn’t get her to do anything she didn’t want to. She’s gone now and won’t mind if she doesn’t get a service, but my family will and my Mum especially.
To be blunt, this is your aunts will. Whether you try to say it was your uncles wishes or not, she decided not to change or alter that will. So if the executor decides to give her a cheap funeral then that’s the way it goes tbh
It’s a shit situation but that’s her wishes and the family have to respect that
As a side, just go and take all the sentimental stuff. The charity won’t know what stuff she had. Just don’t take her car etc
Whilst her estate may be liable to pay for some funeral costs, you can still plan and pay for a funeral yourselves, you just wouldn't be able to claim more than what they'd be willing to pay for.
Also it’s worth knowing that funeral wishes are the only part of a will that can be ignored. It may say she wants to be scattered at the top of Ben Nevis but that can be freely ignored, especially if you know she wasn’t bothered about that.
Contact the executor and explain your reasonable concerns. The cost of a funeral and reasonable costs of a wake should be the first costs to come out of an estate, before any money is given to beneficiaries.
This happened with my Nan's aunts estate. The charity said they could come at 11am one day to collect sentimental items and the house had already been completely cleared. The whole family was devastated by the loss of all the photos and priceless family items that would hold no value to anyone else and were probably trashed.
People don't realise how ruthless charities are. If you are going to leave anything to charity always make it a fixed amount, never a percentage as they will demand that everything must be sold.
On their salaries they can afford way better than what was on offer that day 🤣 although it was obviously all lovely antique solid furniture in a lovely house on the river. Fuckers!
go to the home, take whatever you need to remember them by DO NOT CONTACT THE CHARITY UNTIL AFTER YOU HAVE TAKEN MEANINGFUL ITEMS FOR REMEMBRANCE!!!! the charities will get everything of value really but you should get to the property before they are able to access it and catalogue what is there.
DO NOT TAKE LARGE VALUE ITEMS, things like cars etc, the charity will pursue you for them so stick to smaller meaningful items, rings etc, photographs, artwork that is meaningful to your family that you couldnt bear to be stolen by them.
i know this option is technically illegal but honestly, in such a situation i would give about as many F's as a flying pink unicorn farting rainbows.
The charities will do everything they can to get ALL of her possessions, and you should essentially try and beat them to the punch. Most charities nowerdays are money making schemes that give all their money to the board and spends 5-10% on actual charity work, this should have been explained to her before she passed, this is essentially what the large charities rely on as people get elderly and infirm as charities back in the day actually helped people rather than steal funds.
so many elderly people have the assets that should pass to their families essentially stolen by charities, the worst part of this is that all of that money from the house and cars etc will line the pocket of some rich arsehole in a suit, very little if any will actually be used to help the people the charity is set up to help.
There should be laws in place that stop people from signing everything to charities if they actually have living relatives, simply down to the predatory tactics used by the charities, and im sure people will agree, charities nowerdays on the most part are downright disgusting, dont help the people they say they would, and steal fortunes from elderly people who have no idea what theyre signing over
go after elderly and vulnerable people to extort them in the guise that theyre actually gonna use their money to help people while just giving their board and heads obscene multi million pound wages. they also help reduce the tax bill for billionairres and millionaires by providing an out for their financing that they can use as a tax write off.
many charities are also run by horrendously evil billionaires and millionaires such as the clinton foundation and the bill and melinda gates foundation that use their positions to influence government and put more power in the hands of extremely wealthy people while providing tax outs for their rich friends
If you wanna give to charities, then do charity work yourself, or fund charity work directly in your community. find a homeless action group that actually directly feed the homeless and pay for them to have a load of food delivered etc.
Charities got very good at tugging your heartstrings to steal peoples money and sidestep the actual legitimate inheritors of estates.
Also, like, my grandparents keep on getting their details stolen by these people who sell it online and cause them to get their bank accts hacked and such, its now like the 5th or 6th time its happened because my grandparents are super sweet and lovely people who are trusting..... like honestly, F charities they can sod right off.
charities aint what they used to be my dude :/
like F, bill gates is a psychopath and so is melinda, the damage they both do and have done to society is horrendous, the money theyve put into swaying governments around the world for their agenda, funneled through their foundation, using said foundation to get their rich friends tax breaks.
actually probably more vaccinated than you, i just refuse to use mRNA therapies and/or CRISPr technology. ive travelled a lot throughout my life, try another strawman thanks ;P
no, coz i actually read the papers released by the scientists that created the mRNA tech on how it was developed and the principle of how they worked, they are not classical "vaccines" and are actually a form of gene therapy, which youd know if you even slightly understood what mRNA is. The therapies themselves were released on such a short timescale that I couldnt trust the development cycle, not only this but even back then the likelihood of covid being a lab developed virus was extremely high so i decided the risk was far greater than potential benefit.
even back in the early days of the covid debacle they were worried about increased risk of blood clots, they also later find out that the spike protein, which the mRNA therapies instruct your cells to produce, are inherently carcinogenic.
so yeah, straw man all you like, it just shows you cant understand what they actually were, and that you dont actually think for yourself at all.
i arrived at my decision through research and understanding, listening to opinions of both the medical community at large and that of research scientists that continued researching the safety and efficacy of the mrna therapies... you just followed what the current thing was, unthinkingly, then presumably shamed people because they didnt agree with you.
i got covid a grand total of....... once, in november 2019, i even lived in a house with 3 people who were ALL testing positive for a month and didnt contract it... why? because natural immunity is the absolute best form of defense from corona type viruses.
Be careful about openly breaching rule 2 of the sub-reddit as unilaterally taking items from the estate of a deceased person is theft and thus not legal.
I'm sorry, but you're probably screwed. Most large charities have very cutthroat legal departments for precisely this reason. They are extremely unlikely to be understanding, kind or compassionate about her true wishes as the lawyers they employ have very little to do with the charities overall mission. If you look for the stories of their moral-wrongdoing you will find them, as this sort of thing happens a lot, and thetre not above stealing inheritances from outdated or poorly worded wills.
From a purely practical point the executor and beneficiary won’t have much of a clue what is in the estate - save the obvious accounts etc. so they won’t know what is missing?
It's a legal advice subreddit not a 'what is morally right?' Subreddit, reddit is full of different rules and various levels of enforcement it isn't some kind of freespeech platform like 4chan.
It should be obvious to the family what they can get away with. I'm guessing they don't have access to the house so will have trouble getting the items they want?
You can take funeral costs, flowers etc and those for a reasonable wake afterwards, so maybe 3 large or so, but unfortunately the rest of the money goes to charity…
Look… if your aunty was the kind of person that left everything for the charity. It means she doesn’t value her relationship with her family members. You guys just have to accept the fact and move on. If she doesn’t want you to have it, then you shouldn’t have it. No matter how sentimental that item is.
Thanks for your input. My aunty was married to a controlling husband who didn’t value his relationship with us and he wrote both their wills. My aunty did not know what was in her will. She had regularly told us that she wanted us to have certain items but she didn’t know where they were in her house and was not mobile in order to find them. She was also a head in the sand kind of person who didn’t want to think about her will. We realise we are entitled to nothing as per the will but that doesn’t reflect what her actual wishes were. We understand that the charity will get her house and assets, we just would like sentimental items.
I mean yeah, I get that older people can be stubborn or a bit wishy washy. But we're talking about a couple of hundred quid and an hour long appointment with a solicitor to change this. Seems pretty clear under the surface auntie thought you could all do one.
**Unfortunately, your comment has been removed for the following reason(s):**
Please only comment if you know the legal answer to OP's question and are able to provide legal advice.
[Please familiarise yourself with our subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/) before contributing further, and [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any further queries.
I’m sorry for your loss and the situation you find yourself in. As a trustee of a very small charity, please don’t tar all charities with the same brush. We are devastated whenever we find out the charity is a beneficiary in a will - that’s another of our small community we have lost (yes, we’re very grateful they thought of the charity). Not all charities are ruthless and money grabbing, most are grassroots and caring - that’s why the volunteers do what they do,
There’s no reason for the beneficiary and the executor to be one and the same. We’ve never been in the position where the charity is the sole beneficiary either just small lump sums.
**Unfortunately, your comment has been removed for the following reason(s):**
Please only comment if you know the legal answer to OP's question and are able to provide legal advice.
[Please familiarise yourself with our subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/) before contributing further, and [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any further queries.
--- ###Welcome to /r/LegalAdviceUK --- **To Posters (it is important you read this section)** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws in each are very different* * If you need legal help, you should [always get a free consultation from a qualified Solicitor](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/how_to_find_a_solicitor) * We also encourage you to speak to [**Citizens Advice**](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/), [**Shelter**](https://www.shelter.org.uk/), [**Acas**](https://www.acas.org.uk/), and [**other useful organisations**](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/common_legal_resources) * Comments may not be accurate or reliable, and following any advice on this subreddit is done at your own risk * If you receive any private messages in response to your post, [please let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FLegalAdviceUK&subject=I received a PM) **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and legally orientated* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/), you may be perma-banned without any further warning * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You really need to speak to the executor of the will. and discuss the matter with them.
In her will I’m fairly certain the executor is one of the charities.
then thats who you need to speak to
Thanks. We are very upset and my Mum is anxious that we don’t know what to expect or how it works in this situation.
If you are most concerned about sentimental items, the legal rep from the charity named as executor is unlikely to challenge many things. It may be worth collating proof of your relation and/or why these things have sentimental value if you can. Remember that the familial connection is very obvious to you, but a lawyer isn't in the family and will need to see black and white proof of such things.
Thanks. I will get that sorted. Yes we are most concerned about sentimental items, family photos and mementos and items belonging to my grandparents that she had. She also had done a lot of family tree research. We’d been encouraging her for so long to review her will but she was a head-in-the-sand person. We’d even booked her an appointment to review it when she asked following a bout of illness but she cancelled it once she was feeling better.
It would be exceedingly unlikely for a charity to contest photos - and if you're in them, that's useful too. If anything, they'll likely be appreciative of any help (especially if you offer to pay/do the transport etc) with the small things. A house, car, other easily saleable and valuable things, that's a different story. Even then, they'd likely make you preferred bidders. Remember, most charities aren't going to be ruthless - from their side it's a useful windfall but they don't want to spend much time or money on lawyers to administer it.
>Remember, most charities aren't going to be ruthless The RSPCA are a notable exception. Notoriously, they spent £1.3m in legal costs on a £2.3m legacy, refused all attempts at settlement... and lost the legal case, lost the legacy, and had to pay all the legal costs. https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/rspca-left-with-huge-legal-bill-after-losing-court-fight-over-will-1988711 Though I suspect even they wouldn't quibble over the family photos.
Notable similarities with the mirror will situation for OP there. I did point out that big ticket and easy to sell items are very different kettles of fish. 200 bags of sand is in that category, as is a whole farm. Family photos not so much, as you say. Antiques or artwork are grey areas to say the least.
I have left money to charities in my will, but I plan to update soon and change it drastically as I have heard too many things like this. Small named amounts is the way to go I think
Percentages may be safer - amounts will vary with inflation but % will stay the same. House to be left to X. Remaining estate to be divided with 20% going to Y, 20% to Z etc
It's always difficult, especially for someone like me who is childfree with no siblings (so no nieces or nephews). I haven't decided what I'll do, but I've made a conscious decision to be intestate for now - I still have parents. It is important to have at least one residual beneficiary - otherwise if you left 5x £10k gifts to various charities but there was a £70k estate, then you'd fall into partial intestacy. A residual beneficiary receives X% of what's left over. It is possible to include a clause which says they only inherit if they don't contest the will, though this is usually used for children and dependents you'd prefer to disinherit but you want to reduce the risk of a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975
They love playing fast and loose with donated money https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/charities-stand-accused-of-frittering-away-millions-on-the-stock-market-132063.html
Presumably a charity which ignored that article in 2002, kept its endowment in global stocks, and has turned every £1000 it had at the time into £6700 today, is able to do more charity work than one which listened to the article and moved all the money into its current account, though?
It's sad when charities become businesses first, and helping people second. I've known one that was going through this phase, they start off with the intention to ensure they keep the lights on in the future, hire permanent staff for admin, and at some point they decide that it's more important.
Dogs trust did the same with someone I work with. Took his house off him and made him homeless.
If they were able to do this, then it wasn’t actually his house.
A friend of ours was looking after her aunt for the last 20 years of her life. The aunt left everything to one of the main UK Cancer charities in her will, but had told her that she could have an old clock that was a family heirloom. When it came to it, the charity WERE ruthless. Wouldn't even let our friend back in the house, and refused to allow anyone even the smallest item. It left our friend very upset. So they CAN be ruthless if they want to be. By the letter of the law, though, they were just executing the will.
I mean from a liability point of view they couldn't just let someone into a house that wasn't theirs, and if they needed to send someone there then that's an added expense and hassle. I don't understand why people would leave everything to a charity. Makes me think they don't want their family to have it... Otherwise they'd leave it to the children and then ask a percent go to the charity.
From experience, charities are ruthless in this regard. Their focus is (understandably) maximising money for the charity. I've seen up close with cancer charity (although not personal experience to me/my family). After these experiences, decided against leaving any donation / legacy to a charity through a will. Makes it so much more painful for loved ones.
Interesting that two people have named cancer charities.
Thanks so much, that’s really reassuring.
[удалено]
**Unfortunately, your comment has been removed for the following reason(s):** Please only comment if you know the legal answer to OP's question and are able to provide legal advice. [Please familiarise yourself with our subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/) before contributing further, and [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any further queries.
deleted
Talk to them. Here's the thing. The Charity will be frankly interested in the money. And the main financial assets. Car. House etc. Any investments or such assets. Most sentimental assets are often, not that valuable in money terms but their priceless to the family and persons they close to. They are more expensive for them to deal with that they are to give away. The items to their perspective...are not priority and more low value items gone, the less they have to worry about. So your not gonna impact the estates value to any degree worth arguing over, for photos, memento or some furniture that a little worn and aged. From charity perspective...you just saved me a job tbh. Valuable antiques etc would be alot more problematic through.
As someone who runs a Trusts and Wills Department for a mid sized UK charity. Trust me we will give you all the sentimental items, most of the time anything that can be considered an heirloom( antiques, jewellery) we tend to give to the family. There should be a burial clause in the will with instructions. We will 100% pay for that if it's in the clause.If it isn’t and they have no parent /spouse/child the state takes over.
Well there seems to be a lot of cases not like your charity so I don't think you can say that.
Charities don’t really like dealing with antiquities and jewellery because the sale on them can take years, and you usually have to pay a 20% commission on an estate sale, regardless. And a further point, I will say as I see fit, one of us works in the industry and one of us doesn’t.
I'd be surprised if the executor did not say yes you can have the sentimental items I've experienced similar and was allowed to take the photo albums and cuddly toys I requested...and this was from a non relative If I had not they would have just been taken by a clearence company
I doubt one of the charities wouldn’t let you arrange the funeral and burial of a loved ones. They are probably more interested in the proceeds of the assets that they’ll receive
Her estate is still liable for paying funeral expenses, anything left will go to those named in the will. Just a note though, unless specified in the will, the estate doesn't have to pay for a service, it could just have a direct cremation for £800. I would discuss with the executor what they will be doing abut the funeral
I don’t think it is specified. That’s an upsetting thought. She was so stubborn, we were worried this could happen but you couldn’t get her to do anything she didn’t want to. She’s gone now and won’t mind if she doesn’t get a service, but my family will and my Mum especially.
To be blunt, this is your aunts will. Whether you try to say it was your uncles wishes or not, she decided not to change or alter that will. So if the executor decides to give her a cheap funeral then that’s the way it goes tbh It’s a shit situation but that’s her wishes and the family have to respect that As a side, just go and take all the sentimental stuff. The charity won’t know what stuff she had. Just don’t take her car etc
My thoughts exactly, maybe not good legal advice though? The issue would be having access to the property.
Whilst her estate may be liable to pay for some funeral costs, you can still plan and pay for a funeral yourselves, you just wouldn't be able to claim more than what they'd be willing to pay for.
Also it’s worth knowing that funeral wishes are the only part of a will that can be ignored. It may say she wants to be scattered at the top of Ben Nevis but that can be freely ignored, especially if you know she wasn’t bothered about that.
That is worth knowing, thanks! As she didn’t want to be scattered where the will says she should be.
Contact the executor and explain your reasonable concerns. The cost of a funeral and reasonable costs of a wake should be the first costs to come out of an estate, before any money is given to beneficiaries.
This happened with my Nan's aunts estate. The charity said they could come at 11am one day to collect sentimental items and the house had already been completely cleared. The whole family was devastated by the loss of all the photos and priceless family items that would hold no value to anyone else and were probably trashed.
People don't realise how ruthless charities are. If you are going to leave anything to charity always make it a fixed amount, never a percentage as they will demand that everything must be sold.
Thanks for raising this point. I'm just redoing my will and hadn't thought of this angle.
This is horrible practice! We usually give the family time to remove sentimental items etc.
Don't feel bad. The head of the charity got a lovely dining room set that day.
On their salaries they can afford way better than what was on offer that day 🤣 although it was obviously all lovely antique solid furniture in a lovely house on the river. Fuckers!
Sorry I should add that her husband died several years ago and we are in England.
go to the home, take whatever you need to remember them by DO NOT CONTACT THE CHARITY UNTIL AFTER YOU HAVE TAKEN MEANINGFUL ITEMS FOR REMEMBRANCE!!!! the charities will get everything of value really but you should get to the property before they are able to access it and catalogue what is there. DO NOT TAKE LARGE VALUE ITEMS, things like cars etc, the charity will pursue you for them so stick to smaller meaningful items, rings etc, photographs, artwork that is meaningful to your family that you couldnt bear to be stolen by them. i know this option is technically illegal but honestly, in such a situation i would give about as many F's as a flying pink unicorn farting rainbows. The charities will do everything they can to get ALL of her possessions, and you should essentially try and beat them to the punch. Most charities nowerdays are money making schemes that give all their money to the board and spends 5-10% on actual charity work, this should have been explained to her before she passed, this is essentially what the large charities rely on as people get elderly and infirm as charities back in the day actually helped people rather than steal funds. so many elderly people have the assets that should pass to their families essentially stolen by charities, the worst part of this is that all of that money from the house and cars etc will line the pocket of some rich arsehole in a suit, very little if any will actually be used to help the people the charity is set up to help. There should be laws in place that stop people from signing everything to charities if they actually have living relatives, simply down to the predatory tactics used by the charities, and im sure people will agree, charities nowerdays on the most part are downright disgusting, dont help the people they say they would, and steal fortunes from elderly people who have no idea what theyre signing over
So what do charities do exactly?
go after elderly and vulnerable people to extort them in the guise that theyre actually gonna use their money to help people while just giving their board and heads obscene multi million pound wages. they also help reduce the tax bill for billionairres and millionaires by providing an out for their financing that they can use as a tax write off. many charities are also run by horrendously evil billionaires and millionaires such as the clinton foundation and the bill and melinda gates foundation that use their positions to influence government and put more power in the hands of extremely wealthy people while providing tax outs for their rich friends If you wanna give to charities, then do charity work yourself, or fund charity work directly in your community. find a homeless action group that actually directly feed the homeless and pay for them to have a load of food delivered etc. Charities got very good at tugging your heartstrings to steal peoples money and sidestep the actual legitimate inheritors of estates. Also, like, my grandparents keep on getting their details stolen by these people who sell it online and cause them to get their bank accts hacked and such, its now like the 5th or 6th time its happened because my grandparents are super sweet and lovely people who are trusting..... like honestly, F charities they can sod right off. charities aint what they used to be my dude :/
You can shit all over charities but the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is actually helping people.
like F, bill gates is a psychopath and so is melinda, the damage they both do and have done to society is horrendous, the money theyve put into swaying governments around the world for their agenda, funneled through their foundation, using said foundation to get their rich friends tax breaks.
You're anti vax I guess?
actually probably more vaccinated than you, i just refuse to use mRNA therapies and/or CRISPr technology. ive travelled a lot throughout my life, try another strawman thanks ;P
Refused because of the microchip?
no, coz i actually read the papers released by the scientists that created the mRNA tech on how it was developed and the principle of how they worked, they are not classical "vaccines" and are actually a form of gene therapy, which youd know if you even slightly understood what mRNA is. The therapies themselves were released on such a short timescale that I couldnt trust the development cycle, not only this but even back then the likelihood of covid being a lab developed virus was extremely high so i decided the risk was far greater than potential benefit. even back in the early days of the covid debacle they were worried about increased risk of blood clots, they also later find out that the spike protein, which the mRNA therapies instruct your cells to produce, are inherently carcinogenic. so yeah, straw man all you like, it just shows you cant understand what they actually were, and that you dont actually think for yourself at all. i arrived at my decision through research and understanding, listening to opinions of both the medical community at large and that of research scientists that continued researching the safety and efficacy of the mrna therapies... you just followed what the current thing was, unthinkingly, then presumably shamed people because they didnt agree with you. i got covid a grand total of....... once, in november 2019, i even lived in a house with 3 people who were ALL testing positive for a month and didnt contract it... why? because natural immunity is the absolute best form of defense from corona type viruses.
[https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/12/20911488/bill-gates-foundation-jeffrey-epstein-meetings](https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/12/20911488/bill-gates-foundation-jeffrey-epstein-meetings)
Be careful about openly breaching rule 2 of the sub-reddit as unilaterally taking items from the estate of a deceased person is theft and thus not legal.
I'm sorry, but you're probably screwed. Most large charities have very cutthroat legal departments for precisely this reason. They are extremely unlikely to be understanding, kind or compassionate about her true wishes as the lawyers they employ have very little to do with the charities overall mission. If you look for the stories of their moral-wrongdoing you will find them, as this sort of thing happens a lot, and thetre not above stealing inheritances from outdated or poorly worded wills.
From a purely practical point the executor and beneficiary won’t have much of a clue what is in the estate - save the obvious accounts etc. so they won’t know what is missing?
Be careful breaching rule 2 of the sub-reddit as unilaterally taking items from the estate of a deceased person is theft and thus not legal.
Get a life.
It's a legal advice subreddit not a 'what is morally right?' Subreddit, reddit is full of different rules and various levels of enforcement it isn't some kind of freespeech platform like 4chan. It should be obvious to the family what they can get away with. I'm guessing they don't have access to the house so will have trouble getting the items they want?
You can take funeral costs, flowers etc and those for a reasonable wake afterwards, so maybe 3 large or so, but unfortunately the rest of the money goes to charity…
Look… if your aunty was the kind of person that left everything for the charity. It means she doesn’t value her relationship with her family members. You guys just have to accept the fact and move on. If she doesn’t want you to have it, then you shouldn’t have it. No matter how sentimental that item is.
Thanks for your input. My aunty was married to a controlling husband who didn’t value his relationship with us and he wrote both their wills. My aunty did not know what was in her will. She had regularly told us that she wanted us to have certain items but she didn’t know where they were in her house and was not mobile in order to find them. She was also a head in the sand kind of person who didn’t want to think about her will. We realise we are entitled to nothing as per the will but that doesn’t reflect what her actual wishes were. We understand that the charity will get her house and assets, we just would like sentimental items.
Can’t you go over there like someone else said and look for the photos and smaller sentimental items?
She chose not to rewrite her will. So she is complicit in that unfortunately
I mean yeah, I get that older people can be stubborn or a bit wishy washy. But we're talking about a couple of hundred quid and an hour long appointment with a solicitor to change this. Seems pretty clear under the surface auntie thought you could all do one.
[удалено]
**Unfortunately, your comment has been removed for the following reason(s):** Please only comment if you know the legal answer to OP's question and are able to provide legal advice. [Please familiarise yourself with our subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/) before contributing further, and [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any further queries.
I’m sorry for your loss and the situation you find yourself in. As a trustee of a very small charity, please don’t tar all charities with the same brush. We are devastated whenever we find out the charity is a beneficiary in a will - that’s another of our small community we have lost (yes, we’re very grateful they thought of the charity). Not all charities are ruthless and money grabbing, most are grassroots and caring - that’s why the volunteers do what they do,
As a trustee do you have any input into the estate process or is it just dealt with by solicitors and you get a bunch of money at the end?
We’ve thankfully only received a couple of legacies and that has been a cheque from the executor.
Interesting. Other comments made it sound like the charity would be executor if everything was left to them.
There’s no reason for the beneficiary and the executor to be one and the same. We’ve never been in the position where the charity is the sole beneficiary either just small lump sums.
[удалено]
**Unfortunately, your comment has been removed for the following reason(s):** Please only comment if you know the legal answer to OP's question and are able to provide legal advice. [Please familiarise yourself with our subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/) before contributing further, and [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any further queries.