Wills left to charities take a tumble as economy falters

Income from legacies is down, new figures show.

Data from Legacy Foresight show legacy giving has dropped by 1.1% in the 12 months to June – down to £1.41bn.

The organisation collects data from members and forecasts future fundraising across the UK.

The body said its members’ income grew strongly in the first half of 2016 but incomes flattened off and have now fallen slightly since last summer.

It said that weakening markets meant overall legacy income had fallen despite climbing death rates, which it said would help sustain overall legacy incomes in the near future.

Flagging house prices and jittery stock markets have affected house values meaning a drop in what’s left to give from estates bequeathed to charity.

The average residual bequest values fell 3.7% in the year to June 2017 to £57,000, the organisation said.

This was down from a record high of £59,100 in the year to June 2016 - the period leading up to the European Union referendum.