Margaret Allan (1917-2007)
Feline and Other Friends
As her long and eventful life neared its end, widow Margaret Allan had one cat and one distant relative - doubly distant: he was her half-sister's grandson, and he lived in Norway.
Closer to home, she had many friends, a village full of them. When she died in 2007 at the age of 90, she left a decent chunk to just about all of them.
Margaret and her late husband Harry, a Foreign Office official, lived in Solva, an attractive Welsh waterfront village in St Bride's Bay in Pembrokeshire. They used to holiday there, and after Harry retired, they made it their permanent home.
In 1990, about ten years after moving to Solva, Harry died. Margaret remained, comforted during her initial widowhood, and helped during later infirmities, by many neighbours and local friends. To thank them, she gave legacies to many villagers and village institutions via an elaborate will that also provided for her cat and other animals, and other recipients. She gave £10,000 to her relative in Norway.
Brutus – her ginger cat – was adopted by neighbours. In her will, Mrs Allen gave "To any person whom the executors agree to taking care of my cat to avoid it being put down or going into a cattery - the sum of £3,000.”
She left £25,000 to be divided among her carers, and up to £10,000 to several close friends. In addition to named individuals, she also left a sum to be divided among the village elders – to qualify, they had to be at least 60 years old and resident in the village for more than 20 years. Some 120 people will receive about £500 each.
The local memorial hall, churches and football club, the Pembrokeshire Conservative Association and the village surgery were also beneficiaries, as was the Solva Luncheon Club. She directed that her £5,000 gift to this club was to buy drinks at Christmas.
With Brutus provided for, she also gave money to local cat, dog and badger charities.
Charity Commission Statement
We have met with JNF Charitable Trust to discuss the charity's legacy fundraising practices, in particular its offer of free advice on wills by a charity employee in return for a bequest to the charity. We have also considered additional information the charity supplied on this issue.
In our Guidance 'Paying For Wills with Charity Funds', the Commission strongly advises that charity employees should never become involved in drafting an individual’s will. A charity employee’s involvement in drafting a will is likely to be viewed with suspicion and could well increase the risk of a legal challenge to a legacy left to the charity in the will.
We have discussed this guidance with the Charity and the trustees have explained their decision making to us:-
1. They believe the risks to the charity in providing the free will-writing service in its current form can be effectively managed and have strengthened their safeguards and internal procedures to help manage these risks. As a result the charity will ensure that its advertising clarifies these new arrangements.
2. On balance, the benefits to the charity outweigh any potential disadvantages.
In the light of our discussions with the charity’s trustees, and the information they have been able to provide, we do not propose to take any further action at this time.
