More people will be seeking advice for writing wills in Cheshire and other areas of the UK, as it was revealed the RSPCA snoops on the wills of its donors to see how much they could leave them when they die.
An investigation led by the Daily Mail found the animal charity pays investigators to look at the personal data of its supporters to give them a wealth rating. They use this to identify which donors may leave a legacy to them, with the newspaper suggesting they were using its contributors as “walking wallets”.
The Daily Mail followed the case of 87-year-old Samuel Rae with dementia, whose personal data was traded up to 200 times by charities.
His information was first obtained by simply taking out pet insurance ten years ago. This led to his data being sent to a company specialising in legacy prediction, which estimates the potential of Mr Rae leaving donations to the RSPCA in his will.
He then endured several phone calls and letters over the years from the charity asking to increase his donations.
Speaking with the newspaper, Pensions Minister Baroness Altmann said: “[Some charities] are letting the sector down. It is really important the public is able to trust the charities they donate to.”
When writing a will, you must clearly state what you are leaving and who to. You should write down all your assets – including your house, savings, pensions and belongings – and who the beneficiaries of these will be.
You should also choose executors to deal with your estate to ensure no one has access to your money that you did not consent to in your will.