Lucinda Brown examines a charitable approach to litigation
To defend or not to defend? That is the question posed to charities facing claims against an estate of which they are a legatee. The decision is not a straightforward one. The trustees of the charity must balance the duty to ensure that the charity receives the monies that are due to it against the time, resources and costs that will be incurred in litigating to protect the legacy. Adverse publicity can act as a deterrent to charities who are considering defending claims as they seek to avoid the perception that their defence has caused the case to go to trial.
No special treatment
Charities are not given any preferential status by the court and legacies to charities are just as vulnerable as ordinary legacies in contested estates. Claims disputing the validity of wills, claims for rectification of wills and claims pursuant to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (I(PFD)A 1975) can all give rise to the possibility that the legacy to the testator’s nominated charity will be eroded or
