St Martin's & St Paul's
Parish Canterbury
Legacies
Overall policy
- To encourage members of the congregation and others having goodwill to the combined parish to leave legacies to the parish with those legacies
being made in a way which balances the interests and aspirations of donors on the one hand with the ever-changing needs of the parish on the
other.
- To apply legacies as soon as reasonably practicable after receipt in ways which balance those interests, aspirations and needs.
- To record legacies, the donors' wishes, and the eventual application of funds so as to provide transparent confirmation that the system of legacies operated within the parish maximises their value to the church's overall mission while fully respecting the wishes of donors.
Encouragement
- There should be general encouragement of all on the electoral roll and all other church members to remember the church in their wills. Those
who are known to value our historic buildings (irrespective of whether or not they are members of the church) should also be invited to do
this.
- At least once a year some formal or semiformal public reminder of this encouragement should be given. This could be orally in a service or at
some other event or published in the parish magazine or elsewhere.
- A legacies officer with knowledge of how the wills system works should be appointed with the role of being able to discuss in confidence with
anyone considering making a legacy what is involved and to answer related questions.
- The existence and identity of the legacies officer should be made widely known within the parish.
- As part of the overall encouragement process, all concerned should be made aware of the fact that, while the use of legacies can be restricted
by the donor, many of the church's needs are constantly changing and so restrictions may either or both
(a) reduce flexibility and prevent maximising the support that is available to some project or matter which the current church membership sees as important to its mission and
(b) postpone - maybe for some long time - any use of the legacy sum. - Notwithstanding that last point, those considering making legacies must know that if they have strong wishes as to how their legacies are to be used then those wishes may be either ((a) laid down as inviolable rules or (b) expressed as non-binding wishes which would be taken into account within the general policy and mission of the PCC at the time the legacy is received and applied.
Application
- Generally, and depending on the size of the legacy and any restrictions attaching to it, a legacy (or if appropriate its income) should
be used as soon as reasonably practicable.
- Generally, legacies should not be used to cover general running expenses but for appropriate specific purposes which will add to the
life and mission of the church and (if appropriate) the maintenance of or addition to its buildings.
- Except where the person who made the will or their family request otherwise, the church should give public thanks for a legacy once received. (This contrasts with the confidentiality with which potential legacies must be dealt with during the lifetime of the donor).
Record-keeping
- A legacies register should be maintained and kept fully up-to-date. It should at least record: the name and date of death of the
donor; the nature or size of the gift; any binding restrictions on the use of the gift and (if none) any wishes or other guidance
from the donor (or his/her family) on its use; and how and when the gift was used. If possible, a copy of/extract from the
donor's will should be kept with the register.
- The purposes of keeping the register include (a) to provide to the world transparent evidence of the generosity of those who have benefited the church in this way and that their wishes on use were adhered to and (b) to confirm to the Parochial Church Council what those wishes were in the period between the gift being received and the actual application of the monies concerned.
The Parish's Legacy Officer, is Christopher Wacher, one of the Churchwardens who is also a qualified Solicitor in practice in Canterbury. He would be delighted to have a discussion about possible legacies in complete confidence. If you would like to contact him, please do so through the Parish office on 01227 768072.
(Approved by Finance Committee 19th April 2010 & by the Standing Committee 7th June 2010)
Updated 09 Feb 11
© PCC St Martin's and St Paul's Canterbury 2008 - 2011
