Who Gets What, When and Why? The Changing Psychology of Inheritance and Charitable Giving
With the Autumn Budget approaching, there’s plenty of speculation about what changes to inheritance tax, pensions and financial planning might mean for charitable legacies. It's an important conversation, but recent research into how families are thinking about inheritance has got me wondering about the wider implications for Gifts in Wills fundraising.
We're all familiar with the enormous intergenerational wealth transfer expected over the coming decades and the opportunities it presents for charities. Legacy Futures estimates that UK charitable legacy income reached £4.4 billion in 2025, and there's good reason to be optimistic about future growth. But the existence of wealth doesn't automatically translate into charitable gifts. What matters is how people decide to use it, who they feel responsible for and what influences those decisions.
When inheritance comes too late
Canada Life's recent Rethinking Legacy research found that people expect to receive their largest inheritance or financial gift at an average age of 52, yet fewer than half believe they'll receive it when it would make the greatest difference to their lives.
The research also found that 61% of people receiving a substantial lifetime gift said it had made a major difference, compared with 33% who inherited following someone's death. Helping someone onto the property ladder or supporting them through a financially demanding period may feel more meaningful than leaving them money decades later.
But there's a tension here. People may want to help their families earlier while also needing to protect their retirement income and potentially fund care in later life. Canada Life found that 55% preferred to pass wealth on at death, compared with 28% who favoured lifetime gifting.
For legacy fundraisers, this raises questions about what happens to charitable intentions when people reconsider when and how they provide for their families. Earlier financial support might reduce the estate eventually available for charitable gifts. Equally, someone who has already helped their children could feel more comfortable including a charity in their Will. The research doesn't tell us which is more likely, but it does suggest that the relationship between family provision and charitable giving deserves closer attention.
The decisions don't happen just once
Inheritance decisions can be revisited throughout someone's life. A person might write their first Will when they have children, update it following a separation, reconsider their financial responsibilities when they retire and make further changes after receiving an inheritance themselves. Each time, the balance between providing for others, protecting their own financial security and supporting charitable causes may look different.
Remember A Charity's 2026 research found that, among respondents with a charitable Will, 47% reported adding a charity when updating their Will, compared with 8% who reported removing one. That's particularly interesting because we sometimes think about changes to an existing Will primarily as a risk to a charitable pledge. Yet revisiting an estate plan can also create opportunities for people to reflect on their values, relationships and charitable intentions.
Of course, changing circumstances don't necessarily lead to action. Which?'s March 2026 research found that 57% of respondents with a Will hadn't updated it in the previous five years. Among those who had made changes, 44% said they wanted to alter how their estate would be distributed.
That distinction matters. A change in someone's circumstances, a change in their intentions and an actual change to their Will are three different things, and there may be considerable time between them.
Someone entering a second marriage might need to balance providing for their partner with protecting an inheritance for children from an earlier relationship. Someone who has already helped their children financially might reconsider the proportion of their estate they want to leave to charity. Another person might retain the same charitable intentions but feel less able to make a commitment because of uncertainty about their future needs.
People facing similar circumstances won't necessarily make similar decisions. Their relationships, financial attitudes, experiences and sense of responsibility can all influence the outcome.
What does this mean for Gifts in Wills programmes?
This is something I've been exploring through my Gifts in Wills Decision Map, which draws on behavioural insights to understand how people move from considering a charitable gift to making and sustaining that commitment.
One of the most interesting areas is the period between expressing an interest and actually making a decision. We might know that someone has requested a legacy guide, attended an event or expressed an intention to leave a gift, but we rarely know what happens when they discuss their estate with family members, meet a solicitor or weigh up competing priorities.
Even once someone has included a charity in their Will, that decision may be revisited as circumstances change.
For me, this is why putting the supporter at the centre of a Gifts in Wills programme involves understanding not only what motivates someone to consider a charitable gift, but how they navigate that decision over time.
It has implications for the questions we ask in supporter research, the journeys we design and the way we steward people who have already included a charity in their Will. Are we giving supporters opportunities to explore their decisions without pressure? Do our communications recognise that people's circumstances and priorities may change? And are we maintaining relationships that remain meaningful even when someone's charitable intentions change?
The anticipated wealth transfer presents a significant opportunity for charities, but its scale tells us relatively little about the individual decisions that will determine where that wealth eventually goes.
As we consider the implications of this week's Budget, perhaps the more useful question for legacy fundraisers is whether our programmes are designed around the decisions supporters actually make, including the possibility that those decisions will change.
Let's talk about your Gifts in Wills programme
If you're reviewing your legacy strategy, developing supporter journeys or looking to understand your audience more deeply, I can help you apply behavioural insights and supporter research to build a programme grounded in how people actually make decisions.
Get in touch to explore how we could strengthen your Gifts in Wills programme.
