Helping charities and not-for-profit organisations access legacy gifts faster

Inheritance and probate funding isn’t just for individuals or families as we are increasingly seeing charitable bequests play a vital role on sustaining not-for-profit organisations. However, when a charity is named as a beneficiary in a will the funds will often be tied up in probate for months – or even years.

Charitable organisations rely heavily on legacy income. In the UK gifts left in wills account for more than £4.5bn in 2024, a 9.2% increase on the previous year. For many of the top 1000 charities receiving legacies, gifts in wills now represent on average 30% of their fundraising income.* According to the UK Parliament Committee the backlog in probate applications reached 68,000 cases at its peak in 2023 which have been estimated to represent over 31,000 charitable gifts equating to over £1bn in potential charitable income. **

Since the pandemic we have seen an increase in the delays to this process, leading to significant disruptions with probate processing times often going well past the Government’s 16-week target. For charities already facing financial strain, these delays can threaten staffing and community impact. This is leading many to make some tough decisions to survive and overcome cash flow challenges which lead to uncertainty in forecasting and meeting operational costs.

Recent research highlights the issues

Wealth manager Rathbones released research*** which revealed that 87% of charitable organisations are being negatively affected, with more than one in ten describing the impact as severe. Probate delays continue to block access to funding, leaving many charities struggling to maintain operations.

Over half (57%) of executives said the delays had forced them to sell assets such as property to fill the financial gap, while 51% said recruitment had been affected and 43% reported cutting back on essential services. In addition, 38% said they had made redundancies and nearly a quarter said they had reduced research spending.

Why probate and inheritance funding matters for UK charities

Probate and inheritance funding has emerged as a practical bridge that helps charities unlock the value of confirmed legacy gifts earlier, without having to wait for the full probate process to conclude. For charities experiencing budget pressures the benefits are huge and stops them from having to potentially take short term decisions that have long term impacts such as selling assets or cutting valuable services as a means to generate cash. This type of up-front funding helps safeguard charities against financial uncertainty.

Your Partner for Quiet and Discreet Funding Solutions

With legacy income forming the financial backbone of many charities, the impact of ongoing probate delays can’t be ignored. At Lyford we help organisations and individuals access funds before the estate administration is complete. We offer charities an advance against probate proceeds or use probate assets as a bridge to sale. We can also help donors who are asset rich/cash poor by lending money to them against inheritance assets as a bridge. Until either they receive inheritance or charity can sell non-core assets.

At a time when the sector faces unprecedented operational pressures this type of funding is becoming an increasingly valuable part of a charities financial strategy.

We can provide a safe, discreet path to help you access capital sooner, providing access to liquidity that is playing an important role in sustaining charitable work across the UK.

Contact us

Let us help you navigate this and turn probate and inheritance funding into a strategic financial option to support the future success of your organisation.

*Source: Today’s Wills & Probate May 2025
** Source: UK Parliament Committee Legacy Futures December 2025
*** Rathbones surveyed 100 senior charity executives managing almost £4bn in investments.